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

Parents of dragging death victim speak out

The parents of the woman found dead Sunday after being dragged nearly a mile in west Spokane have a message for the driver, who’s still at large. “I have forgiven the person that did it,” said Gene Littell, sitting in his Spokane home today with his wife, Vicky. “If he was to walk through the door right now, so help me God I would give him a hug.” The Littells are urging the driver to turn himself in. Their daughter, Susette G. Werner, 42, was found dead in the intersection of Maxwell Avenue and Ash Street about 4 a.m. Sunday. Police say she was struck near Cedar Street and Carlisle Avenue by a man driving a boxy dark-colored sport utility vehicle or van, then dragged about 15 blocks to the intersection. “The statement I heard from everybody is how on earth could it happen, somebody drive that far. I said, doesn’t matter how it happened. It did happen. It did happen, and we don’t know the background until somebody tells us,” Gene Littell said. The driver is described as a heavy set, tall male wearing a light colored mid-length jacket. Witnesses told police the driver backed up from the intersection into a radiator shop parking lot on Ash Street, where he talked to the driver of a teal station wagon and got out of his car with a flashlight before driving away. Anyone with information on the incident is asked to call (509) 242-TIPS. Listen to clips from an interview with Gene and Vicky Littell by clicking the audio tab at the top of this story. A full article will be in tomorrow’s Spokesman-Review.