Remembering the 16 people killed in 2025 in Spokane County

In 2025, 16 people were killed by homicide in Spokane County. Here are the victims:

January

Abel Rocha Jr., 38, was shot Jan. 6 outside Aurora Valley Care nursing home in Spokane Valley. Two employees of the nursing home were detained in connection to the shooting but were released without charges because police believe the shooting was in self-defense, according to court documents.

One employee told investigators they were sitting in their car in the nursing home parking lot to take a break when they were confronted by two men who claimed one of them was “hitting on his wife.”

Court records said Rocha was encouraging the man to fight while holding a silver gun. Investigators found a handgun next to Rocha, according to the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office.

One of the men in the car said Rocha “racked” the gun and pointed it at him. The man pulled a pistol and fired several rounds at Rocha, court records say.

Gavin Looper, 13, was shot in the head Jan. 25 while playing video games in a bedroom of a home on Heroy Avenue near Regal Elementary School. Police allege Glen D. Burkey fired into the home, intending to shoot a man inside, but instead killed Gavin.

The boy’s mother, Renee Rogers, said she will remember Gavin as the loudest, funniest, most joyful personality in the room. He loved flag football, the Dodgers, Minecraft and, most importantly, teasing his brother.

He developed the nickname, “Goose,” for the noises he made while sneezing when he was little that sounded like a goose. He also loved the movie “Top Gun” and would run around saying a famous line from the movie, “Talk to me, Goose!”

Burkey, 26, is awaiting trial for murder.

April

Bill Krieg, 49, was shot by a man and his son during a confrontation in the early morning hours of April 7 at a Mead mobile home.

Krieg loved the outdoors, swimming and playing pool, earning recognition as an American Poolplayers Association player and competing twice in Las Vegas. He also liked online games, Dungeons & Dragons and flying drones.

“A quiet soul with a kind heart, Bill was known for his fun sense of humor and his lifelong talent with computers,” according to his obituary.

According to court documents, a family living at the mobile home park, 11612 N. Sheridan St., went to a neighboring residence to confront two men, one of them Krieg, who they believed were breaking into the home.

Krieg had forced his way into the residence presumably to get his property after he was evicted, according to the sheriff’s office.

Cheyenne R. Humphrey, 48, told investigators he shot Krieg after Krieg struck him in the head with a large Himalayan rock salt lamp and then got into a struggle with his wife, according to court documents.

Aleczander Q. Morse-Humphrey, 26, told detectives that he shot Krieg through the trailer window as Krieg was lying injured on the floor.

The Spokane County Medical Examiner’s Office wrote that Krieg was shot twice.

Morse-Humphrey was charged with second-degree murder and is scheduled for trial next month. Cheyenne Humphrey, a felon, is facing an unlawful possession of a firearm charge and is set for trial in March.

Hasani Vita, 24, was shot after an argument with his Amazon coworkers as the trio walked to the company’s West Plains warehouse April 21, according to court documents.

William K. Baldwin, 22, is awaiting trial for murder. Witnesses say Baldwin fired several shots at Vita, who ran into Hayford Road before falling in the street and dying. A deputy found Baldwin shirtless and crouching in brush in a field near the Amazon warehouses, according to documents.

Vita is survived by a daughter, according to his GoFundMe page, which described him as “a very kind-hearted and loving person who was loved by those around him.”

Vita had attended Rogers High School, according to his LinkedIn page.

Timothy Allen Jr., 33, was shot in the head April 25 at a north Spokane Maverik gas station in an apparent gang shooting. Another man, Susep McJoe, also was shot and wounded.

Quentin M.D. Hutchison, 19, was initially charged with suspicion of second-degree murder and drive-by shooting, but prosecutors dropped the charges after new details were brought to light that supported “a theory of self-defense,” according to court records.

Maverik surveillance footage showed two vehicles with several males in each pulling up to gas pumps at the station on Montgomery Avenue and Division Street, according to court records.

Allen and McJoe were in a black Ford Explorer, and Hutchison was in a gray Volkswagen Passat. The two groups appeared to get into an argument.

At one point, both gunshot victims appeared to have their hands concealed. A man from the front passenger seat of the Volkswagen then pulled out a handgun from his waistband and fired multiple rounds at Allen and McJoe.

An obituary for Allen, a father to two daughters, says he will be remembered as humble, respectful, honest and loving.

“Timmy appeared to some to have a hardened heart, but in reality, Timmy really cared for others and would have done anything for anyone who asked,” the obituary says.

May

Steven Elrod, 65, was found dead May 6 in a brown 1988 Winnebago motorhome at the Zip’s Drive-In parking lot, 6525 E. Broadway Ave., according to court documents.

Elrod died from a gunshot wound to the chest. No one has been arrested, and Spokane Valley police are investigating.

Surveillance cameras show the motorhome, registered to Elrod, pulling into the Zip’s parking lot the day before he was found. On the morning of May 6, the Zip’s manager called law enforcement requesting it contact anyone inside the RV and ask them to leave. The manager and a deputy knocked on the door and received no response.

A tow truck driver was then called to tow the RV. He knocked on the door of the motorhome. After no one answered, he opened the door and saw a body inside the doorway.

Detectives believe a broken window and damage to the side of the RV are from bullets fired from outside of the motorhome. A shell casing was in the grass near the RV, according to documents.

Kevin Christensen, 60, was an avid fisherman, jokester and “loved being on stage,” performing in plays at theaters in Kettle Falls and Chewelah, according to his son Skye Christensen.

Kevin Christensen’s friend and fellow actor, GianCarlo DeStefano, said he was “jovial.”

“If you got around him, let’s say you weren’t in a good mood, you would be within a short period of time,” DeStefano said.

Police believe 61-year-old David McFarland attacked a woman with a knife and then stabbed Christensen in the neck and abdomen as he intervened. Another man, Frank Galan, then shot and killed the knife-wielding McFarland in self-defense in the evening of May 13 at the Hart Terrace complex, 3308 E. 11th Ave.

It was no surprise to Kevin Christensen’s loved ones that he was trying to help someone before he was stabbed.

“He never, ever backed off taking care of people,” said Nancy Christopher, Kevin Christensen’s friend. “I mean, that’s just exactly who he is. He would not be the person that turned around and pretended like he didn’t see it.”

Skye Christensen said he knows his father “didn’t go down easy.” He was a big, strong man, standing about 6-foot-3, he said.

“I got confirmation from a lot of the other residents that there are a lot of people that are grateful for what he did and that there are a lot of people that are alive and safe because of what he did as well,” Skye Christensen said.

William Hafeman, 65, was shot in the chest May 18 outside the front doors of the Ramada Inn before collapsing and dying in the lobby of the East Central Spokane hotel, according to court documents.

Phillip J. Webber, 22, was charged with suspicion of second-degree murder and is set for trial in March.

Webber told police he met Hafeman online and agreed to meet him at a room in the Ramada Inn. He left the room a couple minutes after arriving and intended to leave the hotel when he heard Hafeman running after him. Webber told police Hafeman grabbed him and accused him of stealing from him.

Webber denied stealing from the room and said he shot Hafeman during a struggle.

August

Anthony Espinoza, 25, was stabbed several times after intervening in an alleged assault Aug. 7 on the edge of Riverfront Park in downtown Spokane.

Colin L. Pedro, 20, is facing a murder charge in Espinoza’s death and second-degree assault after police say he held a knife to his boyfriend’s throat earlier in the day and then assaulted him again, leaving the boyfriend with a dislocated kneecap, according to court documents. The second alleged assault on Neuman led to Espinoza’s involvement.

Pedro fled with the murder weapon to the nearby Post Street Bridge and threatened suicide, according to Spokane Police.

At Pedro’s first court appearance in August, Espinoza’s sister, Zoe Gluckman, told the court her brother had a 5-year-old son who now will never know his father.

“You took our family member from us,” she said.

After police say Pedro assaulted Neuman, a City Hall camera showed Espinoza approach Pedro, court records say.

Espinoza was holding a small rock in each hand. Pedro then charged Espinoza and stabbed him once, causing Espinoza to fall to his back and drop both rocks, according to the footage. He put his hands up in front of himself as Pedro stabbed at Espinoza’s upper body 10 times while Espinoza remained on the ground.

September

Terrance Wallette, 37, and Emilio Vazquez, 20, were shot multiple times Sept. 24 in the driveway of a South Hill home. The shooter, 38-year-old Shelby Martin, was also shot, but survived. He has not been charged.

A woman told police she was arguing on the phone with Wallette, who claimed he was driving to her South Hill home to beat up her husband, Martin.

Years ago, Wallette was sent to prison for locking the woman, a runaway teen at the time, in his bedroom. Since then, Wallette and the woman, now in her 30s, reconciled. They had a child together and carried on a romantic relationship even though she was married, police cited in court documents.

On Sept. 24, Wallette and Vazquez arrived at the home of the woman and her husband. The woman reported Wallette and Martin shouted at each other before her phone call with Wallette disconnected.

Wallette was found lying on the driveway just outside the driver’s seat of the woman’s black 2017 Dodge Journey, the car Wallette was driving that night. Vazquez died in the front passenger seat.

Prior to the shooting, Martin can be seen standing at the driver’s door with the door open, according to cellphone video captured by one of the children inside the home at the time of the shooting. Wallette and Vazquez are sitting in the front seats.

Multiple shots are fired, and the cell phone camera shakes away for a moment. As the camera refocuses on the men, it appears Wallette is down, according to police descriptions of the footage.

The woman’s husband can then be seen talking with Vazquez, who appears to be yelling back at him. The footage shows what looks like Vazquez pointing a firearm and firing at Martin. Martin then points a firearm back at Vazquez and fires multiple times before the video ends.

Colleen Hendrickson-Bass, 57, was a “tenacious” roller derby player who wore a bright pink helmet, according to teammates.

Off the track, she was kind, happy and always willing to lend a hand.

Hendrickson-Bass was working as an Eastern State Hospital security guard in the early morning hours of Sept. 27 when she was shot and killed in the parking lot of the Medical Lake psychiatric hospital. The man suspected of shooting her exchanged gunfire with a Spokane County Sheriff’s Office deputy, the sheriff’s office said. The shooter, 24-year-old Sethaniel Bunch, shot himself in the head and died, according to the medical examiner’s office.

Deirdre Farnsworth, Hendrickson-Bass’ sister, described her as a “social butterfly” who helped anyone she could.

“She always had a smile on her face and she was funny, and she was kind,” Farnsworth said.

She played in the Lilac City Roller Derby league and went by the nickname, “BomBASStic.”

October

Derick Shafer, 38, was a “big teddy bear” who loved everyone, especially Jesus, according to his sister, Ashley Smith.

“He just could make anyone laugh,” Smith said. “He had the biggest heart.”

He is survived by a 16-year-old son.

Andre D. Moore, 33, is accused of stalking and ambushing Shafer, shooting him as Shafer was sitting in his car Oct. 12 near Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center. Shafer had reportedly stopped by a nearby apartment Moore was visiting several hours before the shooting.

Moore was arrested four days after the killing and charged with first-degree murder. He’s set to be tried in March.

Shawn Cranford, 46, was shot Oct. 17 near Gonzaga University over an argument about a vehicle title, according to court documents.

Zachary C. McGriff, 34, and his nephew, 20-year-old Marius A. Velazquez, are accused of following Cranford and his brother through Spokane, stopping at times to argue about a vehicle title, before Velazquez shot him near a halfway house where Cranford and McGriff stayed.

One of Cranford’s brothers told police Cranford took measures to appease McGriff. The brother said Cranford gave McGriff the $1,000 McGriff requested as collateral until he received the title for the 2010 Mercury Milan that Cranford reportedly sold to McGriff. Cranford also offered McGriff other paperwork for the car, according to court records.

Officers found Cranford shot in a yard behind 803 E. Sinto Ave. Cranford was taken to Sacred Heart Medical Center, where he died that night.

Jeffrey Cranford called his brother a loving son, uncle and brother, at a court hearing for McGriff.

“He was loved by all his friends and all his family,” he said.

McGriff and Velazquez face trial for first-degree murder and first-degree robbery in February.

December

Robert Denunzio, 24, was shot in the head Dec. 1 at an apartment near downtown Spokane.

Randy R. Chaparro, 33, will be on trial for second-degree murder and second-degree assault later this month.

Denunzio’s mother told the court via phone at Chaparro’s initial court appearance that her son “deserves justice” and was a “good kid.”

“My son was an innocent child, and he didn’t deserve to be murdered the way he was, by this person and for no absolute reason,” she said.

Police have not uncovered a motive, according to court documents.

Police found Denunzio with a gunshot wound to the head inside a Kensington Court Apartment unit, according to court documents. Denunzio was taken to Sacred Heart Medical Center where he died about 14 hours later.

One of the visitors, an acquaintance of Chaparro and Denunzio, told police she tried to hug Denunzio in the living room when Chaparro, who she identified by the moniker “Chaos,” pulled out a turquoise handgun and shot Denunzio in the face. She said Chaparro then went through Denunzio’s pockets as though he was going to take his property before leaving. She identified Denunzio as “Bubba.”

She said she was with Chaparro for part of the weekend and he made multiple statements that “he wanted to kill someone today,” according to court documents.

Other homicides

The medical examiner’s office reported 22 homicides in 2025, including the same 16 victims recorded by law enforcement.

The Spokesman-Review did not include the remaining six victims as part of its official count because they died in 2025 from injuries sustained in prior years, died in Spokane County, but from injuries sustained outside the county, or were shot by law enforcement, which the newspaper does not typically include in its homicide count.

Those homicide victims were: Paul Reed, 33; Patrick Monahan, 73; Lance Smith, 25; Ruben Bernal, 65; Ryan Tietsort, 43; and Lisa Ukuku-Kalu, 53.

Reed died from complications of a gunshot wound in his torso, and Ukuku-Kalu died of complications of paraplegia due to gunshot wounds, according to the medical examiner’s office. Both were shot prior to 2025, and no one has been arrested in relation to the shootings, according to Spokane Police Officer Daniel Strassenberg.

Smith died of a kidney infection caused by bacteria, the medical examiner’s office said. It is unclear why the medical examiner ruled Smith’s death a homicide. No one has been arrested.

Monahan died in February 2025 from complications of remote blunt-force trauma to the head, suffered in July 2024 when a neighbor pushed him to the ground during an encounter on the South Hill, according to previous Spokesman-Review reporting. Brennan Schreibman, a lawyer and the vice chair of the Spokane Human Rights Commission, has not been charged.

Bernal died from blunt-force injuries of the head and died at Sacred Heart Medical Center, the medical examiner’s office said. News reports suggest the injuries were related to an incident in Moses Lake.

Tietsort was shot and killed by law enforcement June 15 in Spokane Valley. Tietsort is accused of carjacking a driver in Spokane Valley, driving into Idaho where he struck and killed a motorcyclist and shot and killed a man, and then driving back to Spokane Valley and continuing his alleged crime spree, including firing a gun, before being shot himself.