Motel guest stabbed to death

The woman seemed elated Monday morning when she signed for the room at the Select Inn motel in downtown Spokane.

She never checked out.

Spokane police continue to search for clues Tuesday to explain how the 20-year-old Spokane woman died. She apparently was stabbed to death sometime Tuesday morning inside Room 118 at the motel at Second Avenue and Maple Street.

“It’s a tragedy to see people die any way,” Sgt. Joe Peterson said, “but especially with people of this age.”

A suspect who identified himself as 19-year-old Fernando Trejo-Ramirez is in custody on a charge of second-degree murder, Peterson said.

The man told authorities that he was an illegal immigrant from Mexico.

However, investigators are not absolutely sure that Trejo-Ramirez is his name, Peterson said. “He’s got a couple different aliases. He’s listed in the FBI file under a couple different names. We’re checking that out.”

Those records indicate that Trejo-Ramirez was arrested in North Carolina, but they don’t show why he was arrested, Peterson said. Detectives are checking fingerprint records and researching the suspect’s background.

Peterson said investigators believe they know the victim’s identity, but they had not contacted her mother by Tuesday afternoon, he said. An autopsy has been scheduled for today. Sometime later, Trejo-Ramirez is expected to appear in court.

Authorities began piecing together the tragic events just before 2 a.m. Tuesday, when Spokane Fire Department paramedics were summoned to the motel parking lot to tend to an injured young man, police spokesman Dick Cottam said.

Patrol officers were notified and they arrived to find the Trejo-Ramirez with what appeared to be self-inflicted cuts to his wrists and neck, and more serious cuts to the crease of both elbows, Peterson said.

“Patrol officers arrived and he was wandering around the parking lot,” Peterson said. “They spoke to him for about 20 minutes before he told officers that his girlfriend was dead inside the room.”

Officers rushed into the room, found the dead woman on the bed and then backed out to wait for the search warrant. Detectives had to wait to search for clues until 7 a.m. when the search warrant was signed by a judge, Peterson said.

In the meantime, paramedics transported Trejo-Ramirez to a hospital to get treated for his cuts.

“At the hospital, he told us a few things,” Peterson said. After the suspect received several stitches to close the superficial wounds, officers transported him to the Public Safety Building.

“The male has since become uncooperative and has stopped talking to us,” Peterson said. “He’s certainly a suspect. We don’t think anybody else was involved. The room was rented by the female.”

Select Inn manager Mary Harrington said the woman signed for the room at 11:30 a.m. Monday. Harrington spoke to the clerk who was on duty. The clerk told Harrington that the victim seemed happy because she was getting back together with her boyfriend.

The woman only paid for one night, Harrington said.

Peterson said officers and detectives had not found the weapon – believed to be a knife – used to kill the woman and injure Trejo-Ramirez. “Our forensic detectives are trying to determine what happened,” Peterson said. “We haven’t talked to anyone who was a witness.”

A man who didn’t want to give his name was staying two rooms away from the killing but said he heard nothing until a police officer knocked on his door to inquire about the incident.

Harrington said the 911 call came from Room 118. She, too, heard nothing until she was alerted by police just after 2 a.m.

Peterson said Trejo-Ramirez told investigators that he’s an illegal immigrant from Mexico, but he spoke English, Peterson said.

“He wasn’t overly cooperative at the hospital. But he completely shut down when we got him to the station,” he said.

Police believe that Trejo-Ramirez and his girlfriend were with other people when they were dropped by a car off at the motel, Peterson said. “We found the car but not the people.”

Investigators want to talk with anyone who knew Trejo-Ramirez and the woman. Anyone with information is asked to call the TIPS line at 242-8477, Cottam said.