Murder charge added for Spokane man arrested after assault

A man arrested last November for allegedly assaulting an acquaintance is now being charged with murder. Michael E. Harmon, 32, told police he had a physical altercation with Edward Weed, 46, at Weed’s North Spokane home on Oct. 29, 2014, and returned several days later to find Weed in the same position and apparently dead. Spokane County Medical Examiner Dr. John Howard initially told investigators that injuries he found as a result of the assault, which included a fractured nose and cuts on Weed’s forehead and cheek, would not have been enough to kill Weed. But after further investigation, the Medical Examiner’s Office found Weed was strangled and ruled his death a homicide in late December. Weed’s mother, Barbara, found her son’s body at his home on Nov. 6, 2014 after several of her phone calls went unreturned. “I said, ‘Something’s wrong’ because Eddie always calls me back,” she explained. When she arrived at his house, she found the place in disarray. The bedroom was trashed, she said, and many of her son’s things were missing. After finding her son’s body, Barbara Weed found his dog Tasha locked in his bathroom. The dog had been stabbed in the face, Weed said, though she has since recovered. Police arrested Harmon Nov. 8 on suspicion of robbery, assault and burglary after a neighbor said a man who had been hanging around Weed’s house offered to rake her leaves. Barbara Weed said she was able to identify Harmon, who was an associate of her son’s, based on the description. According to court documents, Harmon told police he backhanded or punched Weed in the face several times during their Oct. 29 altercation, apparently rendering him unconscious. Weed fell onto a couch in his house, and Harmon took several items from the residence, including Weed’s phone and packs of cigarettes. But a confidential informant told police Harmon admitted to choking Weed with his hands and banging his head on the ground, causing Weed to have a seizure before he stopped breathing. Harmon has seven previous misdemeanor domestic violence convictions for assault and violating protection and no-contact orders. He pleaded guilty to a felony domestic violence charge in September 2012 in a case that did not involve Weed. He pleaded not guilty to the murder charge Tuesday morning. Barbara Weed said she wasn’t sure where her son met Harmon, but suspected the two may have spent time in jail together when Weed was serving time for driving while intoxicated. She said Harmon began hanging around her son in about 2008, but Weed quickly stopped associating with him after Harmon stole from him. Though Weed struggled with alcohol in the past, his mother said he was a loving man who took pride in fixing up the yards and gardens in the houses he lived in. He volunteered to rake his neighbor’s leaves and loved his six-year-old dog, Tasha, a golden retriever-greyhound mix who he referred to as his daughter. “She was his pride and joy,” Barbara Weed said.