Man charged in strangling death in a Spokane substance-abuse recovery apartment

A Spokane man has been charged with murder, kidnapping and robbery in the Dec. 15 death of a man who lived in a downtown apartment building for people recovering from substance abuse.

Charles G. Bennett, 23, is accused of strangling Richard S. Hoisington, 28, by wrapping cords around his neck and tightening them with metal bars, court documents say. He was charged last week but has been in jail since Dec. 27 on charges from an unrelated case, jail records show.

Court documents describe a bizarre scene at Hoisington’s apartment in Pioneer Pathway House on South Howard Street. A detective found Hoisington sliding off a recliner, his body held in place by a brown metal bar secured to the chair with cords. A swastika was painted in shaving cream on his stomach, with another symbol which “appeared to be similar to a Christian fish” above it.

Surveillance video recovered from the apartment on Dec. 15 showed a tenant let two men and a woman into the building, who went up to Hoisington’s room, court documents say. Pioneer staff identified one of the men as Bennett and told a detective he had been banned from the building previously.

Other law enforcement officers were able to identify the woman in the video, court documents say. She told police Bennett entered the room angry, saying Hoisington owed him $300.

The woman initially told detectives Bennett only threatened to kill Hoisington and ordered him to empty his pockets, but she changed her story in a second interview. She told detectives she had been up all night praying about what to do and admitted she saw Bennett tie Hoisington to the chair with cords. She told detectives she was sitting on Hoisington’s bed in the corner of the room and couldn’t see exactly what Bennett was doing but believed he was wrapping cords around Hoisington’s neck.

The witness told detectives Hoisington never struggled and spoke only once during the hourlong incident to ask Bennett what was going on. Bennett allegedly replied, “You are gonna die. I told you that.”

Bennett has previously pleaded guilty to reckless driving, criminal mischief and theft, according to newspaper records. He remains in jail in lieu of $1 million bond.