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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Bloody clothes found at suspect’s home

A wad of bloody clothes was found this weekend in a home where a man accused in a double homicide had been staying.

Justin Crenshaw’s aunt was preparing for a neighborhood yard sale when she found the clothes in a plastic bin in her garage, authorities said.

“She did the right thing and called 911,” said Spokane County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Dave Reagan. “And that’s another piece to the puzzle.”

Crenshaw, 20, lived in the house before he was arrested two months ago on two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Sarah A. Clark, 18, and Tanner E. Pehl, 20. The two were slain in a home at 512 E. Elm St., and the home was then set on fire, authorities have said.

Police interviewed Crenshaw at his aunt’s north Spokane residence on Feb. 28, and searched his bedroom with his aunt’s consent, but did not search the rest of the house, Reagan said.

According to authorities, on Feb. 27, Clark, Pehl and Crenshaw went to the home on Elm Street after work. Pehl lived there with his mother and brother, but they weren’t home.

Crenshaw told authorities the three of them got drunk, and that he spent the night alone in a friend’s apartment.

Firefighters were called to the home on Elm Street early Feb. 28 on a report of a fire, and found Clark and Pehl stabbed to death.

Crenshaw, who had recently moved to Spokane, had spent 18 months in jail for a stabbing when he was a juvenile.

Hours after Pehl’s and Clark’s bodies were found, Crenshaw’s aunt, Charlotte “Kate” Crenshaw, told authorities she feared her nephew was involved in the crime.

Crenshaw remains in jail on $1 million bond, and sheriff’s detectives continue to build their case.

Reagan said investigators still hope to learn more about a white car that neighbors reported seeing at the Elm Street home about 11 p.m. the night of the murder. Anyone with information is asked to call (509) 242-8477.