Gruesome Ritzville Murder Investigated, Suspect in Custody Says State Patrol

According to the Washington State Patrol, a suspect is in custody.

Around 3am, a man driving westbound on I-90 not far from Ritzville pulled over when he saw a man and what appeared to be a small child standing alongside the road. He guessed the child to be around 3 years old. When he stopped to ask if they needed help, they ran away.

After they fled, the man parked and walked over to a nearby car he presumed to the theirs. He found a shocking discovery. The passenger's side window was smashed in, and lying on the road was a naked woman's body with a screwdriver sticking out of her chest. It had apparently been rammed through her heart!

The man called 911 and State Patrol officers quickly responded. Troopers say the man, in his early twenties, is believed to have had some sort of relationship with the female victim, who was also in her early twenties. The child was taken to the nearby Adams County Sheriff's office.

The investigation continues, and the westbound lanes of I-90 were closed for some time. Traffic was re-routed by way of Highway 21.