Q6 Cold Case

It was November of 1981 when 24-year-old Kathryn 'Kathy' Rahe Gregory vanished in Spokane, WA. She was a beloved nurse who specialized in working with critically ill babies. She was married, and the couple lived on the lower south hill. Loved ones knew something was terribly wrong when Kathy missed a shift at the hospital. Kathy's body has never been found, but it's long been suspected she was the victim of a homicide. Her family launched a scholarship for nursing students in her memory. More of that can be found here: https://www.kathyrahescholarship.org/.

In July of 1973, 25-year-old Archie Gonia was found beaten and strangled to death in the downtown Spokane hotel where he was working. The brutality of the crime has been described as 'overkill' by investigators. Archie's family says he was a very kind and gentle soul, and at times overly trusting of people. They are hopeful after all these years, tips will come in and they will get the answers they deserve.

On October 4,1978 the body of 16-year-old Krisann Baxter was found in North Spokane. She had been beaten, strangled and sexually assaulted. For decades, the Spokane County Sheriff's Office tried to catch a killer. There was no shortage of suspects, even confessions that were later ruled to be bogus. Nearly 45 years after the brutal crime, it was genetic genealogy and the company Othram who identified Keith D. Lindblom as their suspect. Lindblom died in a fire in 1981. His own family helped SCSO finally solve the case.

No one has seen or heard from Melinda Lopez since November of 2020. Loved ones fear she was the victim of a homicide. The Pend Oreille County Sheriff's Office urges anyone with information to come forward. To reach those potential witnesses, Melinda's family created a video flyer of Melinda herself. With a beloved photo and previous videos of her, it's a chilling plea for justice. If you know anything about Melinda's case, call 509-447-3151.

In June of 1984, two fishermen discovered the torso of a nude woman in the Spokane River. In 1998, the skull of that female victim was found in a vacant lot near 7th and Sherman. Her feet and hands have never been found. For 39 years, the victim remained nameless. Thanks to a tenacious detective and forensic genetic genealogy, in 2023 the victim was identified as Ruth Belle Waymire. But whoever killed the 24-year-old remains a mystery. If you can help police in any way, call 509-456-2233.

In July of 2004, the decomposing remains of Catherine Avis were found in a rural field outside of Valleyford. She had to be identified using a fingerprint and tattoo she had in honor of two of her children. The medical examiner could only determine she had died from homicidal violence. Catherine's purse was found and turned over to deputies weeks before her remains were discovered. Now, the bag still sits in evidence. It's one of few clues in this cold case that her now grown children are hoping could get the break it needs. And soon.

In August of 1976, a 24-year-old Lewiston mother vanished. For years, Patty Otto's daughters were told she left voluntarily, despite her youngest recalling vivid memories of a violent fight that night between her parents. Patty's husband was arrested shortly after she disappeared, accused of trying to coordinate the murder of an LPD investigator looking into the case. He was never charged with harming his wife. Patty's daughter is on a mission to find out the truth. Could a 1978 discovery in Oregon be the key to solving this case? KHQ talks in depth about the case's twists and turns with Patty's daughter who refuses to ever give up her fight for answers.

It was Fall of 2003. A suspect broke into a woman's home near the Washington State University campus armed with a knife and firearm. He went on to assault and rape her. Several weeks later, Pullman Police responded again to an eerily similar attack in another residence less than a half-mile away. Investigators had a terrified community, and nothing more than a sketch to try to find the rapist. It would take nearly 19 years, and the use of forensic genetic genealogy, but in March of 2022 they finally made an arrest. This episode has in-depth interviews with both the detective on the case and the founder of the organization who helped finally crack it.

In 1987, 16-year-old Deanna Criswell boarded a bus in Spokane headed for Arizona and was never seen by loved ones again. Her accused killer was identified through DNA long before she was. She was marked 'Jane Doe 19', and that label would remain until 2015 when her family saw a post on the Jane Doe Network. What happened to Deanna is all too common in the United States with a minimum of 40,000 unidentified remains cases yet to be closed.

Candy Rogers was just nine-years-old when she was abducted, sexually assaulted and strangled to death. The crime occurred in March of 1959 and changed the Spokane community forever. The case would go unsolved for decades until a determined detective connected with a Texas DNA laboratory. After 62 years, SPD was finally able to tell Candy's surviving relatives that they had identified her killer.

It's been one year since a Stevens County man vanished. Guy Geyer, 61, was renovating a home near Chewelah. His daughter says after the disappearance, they found his worksite at the residence oddly tidy with his expensive tools left behind. As the days since he vanished continue to stack up, his family fears investigators should not only be looking for Guy's remains, but also a potential killer. If you know anything about what happened to Guy, please call 509-684-2555.

Angel Dawn Wilson (Rice) was just 17-years-old when she vanished in Spokane, Washington. Her father recently passed away. He spent the last 14 years of his life consumed with the heartbreaking search for his daughter. Angel's best friend and brother continue to push for answers. If you know anything about what happened to Angel, please reach out to the Spokane County Sheriff's Office.

The FBI and local law enforcement held a recent press conference on the 40-year anniversary of the abduction and murder of University of Idaho student Kristin David. The 22-year-old was found dismembered in the Snake River. Her case is one of several that occurred in roughly the same area, around the same time, that remain unsolved. Has one person gotten away with multiple murders, or could the LC Valley have been home to more than one killer capable of unthinkable evil? It's a question that haunts the community decades later.

In June of 1981, 22-year-old Kristin David left Moscow, Idaho on her blue 10-speed. She was headed for the LC Valley. Witnesses reported seeing her speaking with a man in a brown van near Genesee. Days later, her dismembered remains were found in garbage bags in the Snake River. Her cause of death is a secret only kept by law enforcement and her murderer. An upcoming episode will dig deeper into this case, but we wanted to share the recent press conference on the 40th anniversary of Kristin's death.

It took a Spokane County jury less than two days of deliberations to convict Clay Starbuck of murdering his ex-wife Chanin in December of 2011. Prosecutors pointed to a shaky alibi, a switched-off cell phone, and a neck swab that was a partial match to male Starbuck DNA. Nearly a decade later, the Washington Innocence Project is involved and pushing to get never before tested evidence in the system. The Starbuck children have never wavered in their support for their father.

In April of 1996, 17-year-old Jeremiah Taraba was found hanging from a tree on Tubbs Hill. It was quickly labeled a suicide. More than four years after the death, his body was exhumed for autopsy. Still, his family and the many others who have looked into this case have far more questions than answers. Was this a tragic suicide, or a calculated cover-up?

In 2020, 24-year-old Makayla Young was stabbed dozens of times and nearly decapitated by a man she was dating. Anthony Fuerte entered a plea of guilty to the murder in April and will be sentenced May 24th. The family is asking anyone touched by this story to send statements for the judge to review prior to sentencing.

Sarah Q. Gardner was a beloved wife, mother, grandmother and community leader. That's what made her brutal murder so shocking. She was found stabbed nearly 50 times inside her Spokane beauty salon. No one has ever been arrested in connection to the homicide.

Ian Eckles went to Kittitas County to go turkey hunting with friends in May of 2020. Ian never showed up to meet them. While looking for clues, friends saw a man driving Ian's vehicle. A three-week search for that armed suspect, since identified as Jorge Alcantara Gonzalez, followed in what has been called the biggest manhunt in county history. Even though he was eventually found and charged with taking Ian's property, the investigation into Ian's death and search for his body continues.

This episode digs into the disappearances of three adults, all with ties to Stevens County. Doyle Putnam, 65, vanished near Ford. Guy Geyer, 61, disappeared without a trace outside of Chewelah. Melinda Lopez had ties to Stevens County, but the 35-year-old was last spotted in Newport. While no one believes these cases are connected, their families fear there could be as many killers as there are cases. Someone knows something. Is it you?

In January of 2007, 37-year-old mother of three Karen Bodine was murdered. She had been strangled. Her killer(s) posed her body on the side of a busy road in Thurston County. Detectives have DNA and no shortage of suspects, but the case has gone cold. Karen's daughter is now working to get multiple billboards up throughout Washington State with a picture of her mother and a plea for tips to solve the case.

Five-year-old Siobhan McGuinness was walking home in Missoula, Montana in February of 1974. The distance was very short, but just long enough for a killer to find her. After more than 45 years, that killer (since deceased) has now been identified through a familial DNA hit. Richard William Davis had no ties to Siobhan or the community. Could the solving of her case bring the same closure for others throughout the country? Law enforcement and her family hope so.

In April of 2003, 19-year-old Casey D. Burke vanished. He was last seen near a video rental store in Nespelem, Washington. Casey's family says there have been no shortage of rumors about what happened. The one they believe is that Casey was beaten to death with a wrench and dumped in the mountains. Multiple agencies have searched for the truth, including the FBI. More than 17 years later, there are still far more questions than answers.

In July of 2015, 76-year-old John Sevy went outside of his Kettle Falls home to investigate a strange noise. He crawled back to his front door covered in blood 30 minutes later. Initially, they suspected the injuries were the result of a terrible accident. His own dying words set the record straight. The family believes he interrupted a burglary in progress and attacked as the suspects got away. Deputies also believe this was a murder. So why does the medical examiner have the case listed as undetermined?

In August of 2005, a 45-year-old wife and mother vanished in Post Falls. Police and family alike believe Roxann Tolson was murdered in a 'crime of passion.' Detectives have searched for answers everywhere from her own backyard to home foundations across the Inland Northwest.

In March of 1996, 12-year-old Julie Harris vanished while walking to church in Stevens County. Julie's remains were found the following year. Her mother says the day she vanished, a witness saw Julie walking along Main Street with a tall man wearing a trench coat. Julie's mother fears that man may have been notorious serial killer Israel Keyes.

The year was 1984. Debbi Finnern, 30, left all she knew in Omaha, Nebraska behind when she moved to Spokane. Her family believes just a few months after she arrived, she was murdered. Debbi's body was found with multiple stab wounds and evidence she fought back. There have been no shortage of theories on Debbi's case, but her case has gone cold. WOWT-TV in Omaha assisted in the production of this episode.

Heather Higgins vanished in 2010 from Spokane. Her body has never been found. In 2012, the dismembered remains of another Spokane woman, Kala Williams, were discovered dumped in a heavily wooded area. The families say evidence points to the same man being involved in disposing both women's bodies, if not more. So why is he getting away with it? KHQ investigates.

No one has seen 27-year-old Courtney Holden since the summer of 2018. Her adoptive mother and adoptive brother were arrested for stealing her funds and identity. But are they guilty of far more than that?

The story begins in Kootenai County, Idaho in the mid-1990s. That's when Christopher Loesch's grandfather was shot to death. In 1998, Christopher's grandmother was also murdered. It would take years, and revelations uncovered in yet another murder, but police finally were closing in on Christopher's mother and her lover as suspects. The women took Christopher and spent close to a decade on the run. In 2008, the women were found dead in an apparent murder-suicide. But where was Christopher?

The wheels of justice have turned at a slow and very painful pace for a Spokane rape survivor. Her attacker broke more than a dozen bones in her body, sexually assaulted her, and left her to suffocate in a tied plastic bag. Because her wrists were so badly broken, she was able to escape the ties and call for help. Her rapist got away with the crime for nearly 20 years until the DNA he was forced to give after a felony property crime charge tied him to the vicious assault. For the first time, the victim is sharing her story.

The late 90's in Spokane was one of the darkest time periods in our history. A serial killer was among us. But Robert Yates wasn't the only killer targetting Spokane women. The family of murder victim Margaret Anselmo knows Yates wasn't her killer, but fear because it happened when it did and resources were so maxed out, they may never get justice.

In August of 1977, the bones of 19-year-old Robert Lee were found scattered in a rural wooded area in Stevens County. Evidence in his homicide was scarce. Because of that, prosecutors held his remains in the evidence room for more than 20 years, longer than he was alive. This case has many factors working against it, but one retired sheriff's office employee isn't giving up hope.

A day at the North Idaho State Fair ended in a mystery that is yet to unravel decades later.

In July of 2017, 50-year-old Marty Lang seemingly vanished into thin air. He made it to his rural property outside of Newport after work and set down his lunchbox. It was found about a foot or two from the driver’s side door. Those who knew him best believe there was a deadly encounter in his driveway. The sheriff isn’t so sure.

It was a cool June night in 2005. Spokane man Steven Allison was walking home from hanging out with his brother. He was found so badly beaten, a shoe print was visible on his face. Could a threatening note found in his room be the key to solving this cold case?

It was February of 1974. Five-year-old Siobhan McGuinness was walking home from playing with a neighbor friend. The distance was very short, but just long enough for a killer to find her. Two days after the little girl was reported missing, her father says they got confirmation of the entire town’s worst fear.

Marsi Belez was just 12 years old when she was raped and stabbed to death in Spokane. Her case has gone cold. Someone out there has gotten away with her murder. KHQ's Hayley Guenthner digs into the final day of little Marsi's life.

Convicted killer and child abductor Arbie Williams could be released well before completing his prison sentence. Deputies call his crimes as bad as it gets. Will the sentence review board agree?

It was September 30th, 1992. Richard "Rick" Goodsall, 39, was closing up the bar where he worked. He was viciously stabbed to the death in the kitchen he was trying to clean."I personally have never set foot in that tavern," said the victim's niece Shannon Welch.For Rick's big brother Jeff, the pain is consuming. Time doesn't heal all wounds.

23-year-old Steven Delay was fresh out of the military, working at a local car dealership while chasing dreams of becoming a deputy. He was dead. Their mother heard the shot.