SPOKANE, Wash. — The Spokane County Sheriff's Office arrested a man for allegedly murdering his wife after telling detectives she committed suicide. The man has since been booked into the Spokane County Jail for second-degree murder.
Sheriff's deputies responded to a reported suicide at a residence on North Perry Street at approximately 11 p.m. on Jan. 18. According to deputies, 55-year-old Dean Ayers said his wife shot herself in the head.
Spokane County Fire District 4 and Deer Park Ambulance personnel arrived and took the woman to a nearby hospital, where she later died.
According to deputies, several inconsistencies were noticed in Ayers' story and in the evidence. This led deputies to believe that the victim did not commit suicide.
SCSO Major Crime Detectives, Forensic Unit Technicians, and Traffic Unit Scene Reconstructionists were called to the residence to document and collect evidence.
Once the woman's autopsy was complete and the results were compared to evidence found at the residence and Ayers' statements, deputies said Major Crimes Detective Scott Bonney developed probable cause to arrest Ayers.
At 1:15 p.m. on Thursday, Ayers was arrested and taken to the Spokane County Jail on a charge of second-degree murder.