Medical examiner recounts disturbing injuries in killing of senator’s nephew

The nephew of a Montana senator died of numerous chopping, stabbing and blunt-force wounds inside his home near Spangle, the Spokane County Medical Examiner’s Office said Thursday.

Robert J. Tester, a nephew of U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, was the victim of a brutal homicide by an unknown intruder. He had lived at the home for several years with his 8-year-old daughter, who reported the killing to authorities Tuesday morning. She reportedly told sheriff’s deputies a man had entered the home wielding a sword and a knife.

Deputies found Robert Tester’s body in a pool of blood on his living room floor, with a bloody wood-splitting maul nearby. The Medical Examiner’s Office provided a disturbing list of injuries that contributed to his death, including “chop wounds” to his head and stab wounds to his head, neck, torso and extremeties.

According to court documents filed Thursday, detectives hadn’t identified a suspect.