Murder-Suicide Update

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, December 14, 2005

Chris Tennant, PPD Commander
Pete Martin, Whitman County Coroner

POLICE NAME PERSON RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DEATHS IN THE MURDER-SUICIDE

PULLMAN—Pullman Police today released the findings of the autopsies following the double-murder suicide Saturday in Pullman and named the person responsible for the shootings.

Whitman County Coroner Pete Martin said the autopsies of Louissa Thompson, 27, Peter Zornes, 25, and Trevor Saunders, 29, showed the three individuals each died from a gunshot wound to the head.

According to Pullman Police detectives the crime scene evidence, the autopsy results and other information gathered during the investigation clearly show that Trevor Saunders fired the shots that killed Thompson and Zornes before turning the semi automatic pistol on himself. The official ruling of the Coroner was that the manner of death for both Zornes and Thompson was homicide and that Saunders died by suicide.

Detectives have determined that Saunders and Thompson had a prior dating relationship that Thompson was attempting to end. The police investigation, that included interviews, determined that Saunders wanted to continue the relationship, to the point of exhibiting stalking type behavior that was never reported to police.

Police say that Zornes was a recent acquaintance of Thompson. Detectives are still investigating details of the relationship of the two, who were co-workers at a Pullman business.

Police emphasize that the investigation is still on going but are confident of the above conclusions.