Arthur Haines, unsolved homicide

Update: Arthur Haines

The 87-year-old man from north Spokane was found beaten to death, lying in a pool of blood on his kitchen floor on Feb. 28, 1993. A fire had been set in his bedroom in an attempt to destroy evidence.

Since a story about his death was published in The Spokesman-Review on July 29, the Police Department has received two tips.

One came from a man who lived near Haines’ home on North Washington Street. The man told detectives of a person he’d befriended named Eddie. The tipster said he once saw Eddie looking through Haines’ windows and thought police should consider him a possible suspect. Eddie was deported to Central America about eight months after Haines was killed.

The second tip came from one of Haines’ granddaughters, who said her now-deceased brother and some of the people he spent time with were engaging in questionable behavior at the time of her grandfather’s death.

Detectives say they also have eight to 10 DNA samples from possible suspects they will compare with a sample taken from the crime scene once it’s processed by the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab.

– Jody Lawrence-Turner