SPOKANE, Wash. — The Spokane County Medical Examiner has confirmed the identities of the two people found dead following a shooting near Minnehaha last Friday.
According to the medical examiner, 37-year-old Colton Russell and 23-year-old Kiara Morgan-Weiland are the victims found at the scene. Morgan-Weiland's cause of death was determined to be multiple stab wounds, while Russell's cause of death was listed as multiple gunshot wounds. Both deaths were ruled homicides.
KREM 2 received the following statement from the family of Morgan-Weiland:
Her legal name is Kiara Leielle Morgan-Weiland but she went by Morgan-Hanson from the age of six on. She wasn’t able to change it before she passed. Kiara was born in deer park at a home birth on July 30th, 2000. She shares a birthday with one of her best friends. At the age of 3 her mother and biological father divorced and her mom moved she and her brothers to Spokane where she attended kindergarten at Whitman elementary for 2 months and then we moved to Spokane Valley. Her mom remarried in 2005 and Kiara attended orchard center elementary school from kindergarten until 5th grade. She moved to hillyard in 6,7, and part of 8 grade at Shaw middle school then she moved back Spokane Valley and graduated 8th grade at centennial middle school. She attended Dishman High School and graduated in 2018. She became a mother in June 2nd 2022 and had her son Giovanni James Cassotta. She was a super kind, compassionate, loving person.
According to the Spokane Police Department (SPD), there were multiple gunshots heard near Cleveland Avenue and Cuba Street. SPD said they arrived at the scene around 11 p.m. Friday. At the scene, SPD officers found Russell dead in a car and Morgan-Weiland dead on a nearby road.
Neighbors and an SPD spokesperson confirmed surveillance video has been collected from the area.
Tyler, a member of the Minnehaha Neighborhood Council who didn't want to use his last name, said while he and other neighbors are vigilant, there needs to be more police presence.
"I think as a neighborhood council one thing we stress on is just having the proper infrastructure, I think that's something that's kind of lacking right now in the city," he said. "I'm hoping the new administration can help us with that but honestly we need more officers on the road, we need more officers in the neighborhoods."
He says the council is thinking of the victims' families and hoping for a resolution in the case soon.
"Any time something like this happens, I don't care what neighborhood it happens in, it's a sad say," he said. "We don't like hearing about it."
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