A tragedy-marred January left investigators with seven death cases
Two stabbings and a shooting in Spokane County over the weekend completed a bloody January.
Prosecutors have filed charges in three January homicides, including two in Spokane and one in Spokane Valley. While that number alone isn’t a large spike compared to past years – newspaper records show two homicides each occurred in the first month of 2013, 2014 and 2015 – there are two other January fatal shootings under investigation, as well as two suspicious deaths, including that of Veterans Affairs Medical Center surgeon John Marshall.
Spokane police Major Crimes Lt. Steve Wohl said the number of homicides and deaths is higher than normal, but crime rates sometimes spike for no apparent reason and then go back down.
“That’s kind of the hope, that this is just an anomaly,” he said.
Spokane County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Deputy Mark Gregory agreed.
“There’s been a lot of higher-profile stuff in the last few weeks, but I don’t know that it’s going to necessarily be a trend,” he said.
Nothing appears to connect any of the cases, and Wohl said there’s no logical reason for an increase in violent crime. The victims range in age from 21 to 73 and are about evenly split between men and women.
“They’re so different in nature, there’s nothing I can say,” Wohl said.
The January homicides and open death investigations include:
Jan. 18: Eastern Washington University student Eduardo Villagomez is fatally shot outside the Palomino Club. Villagomez was an apparent bystander in a gunfight investigators believe was started by Anthony G. Williams. Williams has been charged with murder, and two other suspects are in custody.
Jan. 18: Brenda Thurman, a VA counselor, is fatally shot at home in Spokane Valley. Her husband, Dwayne Thurman, told investigators the shooting occurred accidentally as he was trying to clean his wife’s pistol. The investigation is ongoing and no charges have been filed.
Jan. 23: The body of Cindy Lou Zeppenfeld Bergan is found wrapped in plastic near Cataldo, Idaho. She went missing from Spokane County in early January, just days after filing for a domestic violence protection order. Investigators are awaiting autopsy results, which include toxicology tests expected to take six to eight weeks, to determine how she died.
Jan. 26: The body of missing VA surgeon Dr. John Marshall is found in the Spokane River one day after his wife reported him missing. The cause and manner of his death are pending investigative work and toxicology testing, which will take several weeks. “We’ve still got video we’re looking at and going through, we’ve still got phone records, we’ve still got interviews going on,” Wohl said. Marshall’s wife, Suzan Marshall, released a statement this week saying, “Thank you to the hundreds of people who have put their loving arms around us. The support is overwhelming.”
Jan. 29: Alicia C. Sweet is fatally stabbed at a Spokane Valley home. Police arrested her boyfriend, Corey Burnam, on suspicion of killing her after the two used heroin, fought and she disclosed that she may have infected him with the virus that causes AIDS.
Jan. 30: The body of Wanda Bush is found in a recycling cart outside her home. Police arrested her son, William Bassett Jr., who had reported her missing earlier in the day. He told investigators he hit her over the head with a frying pan and stabbed her on Jan. 25 or 26.
Jan. 30: A homeowner in northwest Spokane shoots and kills Jerry R. King around 10 p.m., believing him to be an intruder. Wohl said a relative of King’s lived on the same street and told investigators King came home drunk and may have been trying to get into the wrong home. Police are still interviewing witnesses and reconstructing the scene of the shooting, Wohl said.