Man found dead at northeast Spokane park, death ‘was not natural,’ police say

A man was found dead of a suspected homicide late Friday morning at Rochester Heights Park in northeast Spokane.

Spokane Police Department Cpl. Nick Briggs, a spokesman for the department, said it was clear the death “was not natural,” but the circumstances are under investigation. Police later confirmed in a news release that the death was being investigated as a homicide.

Briggs said a person at the park found the man in the grass shortly after 11 a.m.

Yellow and red crime scene tape cordoned off the park, located at 1801 E. Everett Ave., for about five hours Friday as investigators collected evidence.

“That’s terrible,” said Cheryl Jones, who lives in the neighborhood, about the death. “I mean, it doesn’t surprise me, though.”

Three neighbors said the neighborhood surrounding the park is “pretty quiet.”

“It’s pretty quiet … and then stuff like this happens,” Jones said.

In October, the body of 20-year-old Andrew Sorensen was found in the trunk of a green 1991 Honda Accord near Rochester Heights Park. John B. Eisenman was charged with first-degree murder of Sorensen and is set for trial in November.

Jones said she would like to see more of a police presence in the neighborhood to potentially prevent crimes.

Bill Zimmerman, who has lived near the park since 2003, said the neighborhood is “mostly good.”

Other than traffic going too fast, “it’s fairly quiet,” Zimmerman said.