On January 9, 1991 "Unsolved Mysteries" aired a segment on Spokane teenager Russell Evans who was killed on June 4, 1989. The segment focused on circumstances surrounding his death which the authorities maintained was the result of a hit and run accident and Russell's parents believed was a murder carried out by teenagers with whom Russell had an altercation with earlier the evening of his death.

In 1996, new information apparently was unearthed in the form of witnesses who claimed that Russell's death was indeed a murder. Based on the information provided by these witnesses Russell's parents were able to finally identify the "teenage gang members" that they believed were responsible for Russell's death along with a vehicle that they may have used.

One witness claimed that Russell was beaten severely with clubs and his body was then run over by a car. What follows are excerpts from a taped statement by a witness who claimed to have intimate knowledge of the June 4, 1989 murder of Russell Evans:
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Unidentified Suspect: Man, you know I screwed up. I ended up killing that boy last night.

Unidentified Witness: What happened?

Unidentified Suspect: What I did was I hit him. Once I hit him, backed up and ran over him.

At this point the unidentified witness makes mention of the fact that the suspect insisted that he accidentally ran Russell Evans over. He then began to make mention that the gang also discussed an alibi.

Unidentified Suspect: If we see the police to go on ahead and cover for him and say that he was…with us. Nobody ever came and approached us, as far as an officer, police officer. Nobody came and asked us…

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/1996/mar/01/new-witnesses-come-forward-in-teens-death-parents/

Edit: Also of interest is the fact that the police as late as 1996 were still maintaining their "hit and run" theory. Also according to an article published in the Spokane Review the police also initially did not rule out suicide stating that Russell Evans may have in fact jumped out in front of a moving vehicle. To my knowledge the mystery surrounding the death of Russell Evans to this day has never been solved.

I always believed he was murdered. I felt his friend "Brian" witnessed the whole thing or was somehow involved, possibly even set Russell up. "Why" is the big question.

The detective in the segment seemed very dense. Their whole police department should be ashamed of their handling of this case.

The unidentified taped witness: could it be the person we only know as Brian?

The detective in the segment seemed very dense. Their whole police department should be ashamed of their handling of this case.

Not as dense as Sheriff Allmaras in Kathy Bonderson's case.

I always believed he was murdered. I felt his friend "Brian" witnessed the whole thing or was somehow involved, possibly even set Russell up. "Why" is the big question.

The UM segment sure makes you seem to lean in that direction doesn't it? Although to be fair it could be quite possible that Brian was walking home with Russell at the time of the attack and quickly took off for the hills as soon as Russell's attackers showed up opting for whatever reason not to help his friend fend off his attackers.

As to why Russell was murdered? I still think that the motive for Russell's murder has it's roots in the confrontation that occurred earlier that night in the park. While the motive itself seems to be somewhat muddled in so much that Russell merely stood by the side of his friend during the incident in the park and wasn't the initial target of the alleged gang's aggression. However, it's possible that if these teenagers with whom the altercation in the park occurred with were gang members that Russell may have sealed his fate when he threatened them. That in enough of itself may have provided the motive for his murder later on that evening.

Now whether or not Russell's murder was "a fight that got out of hand" as his parents describe it or a premeditated murder is also the matter of some conjecture. I tend to lean towards premeditated murder as if all the reports are correct, you don't show up to a fight with a baseball bat unless you plan on doing significant damage to your adversary.

The condition that Russell was found in may be the only clue as to what caused his death. His injuries were obviously severe enough that they eventually rendered him unconscious but for a time he was lucid enough to call out for his friend Brian. I wonder that if Russell had indeed been hit by and then run over by a vehicle if he would have been not only conscious when he was found but lucid enough to call out for his friend?

The UM segment sure makes you seem to lean in that direction doesn't it?

UM made me think that the person making the anonymous calls tipping off police to the whereabouts of Monica Rizzo's bones was the one who committed the murder. There was no need to show the mouth speaking into the phone. It only added mystery to a case that had enough unanswered questions as it was. On the whole, I think UM was a very well-produced show though.

From further articles on the case some notations from Russell's parents on the authorities alleged mishandling of the case:

- Officers didn't photograph the scene or chalk mark where Russell's body was found

- No samples of blood spots on the pavement some of which may have belonged to individuals others than Russell were taken.

- Police never interviewed Sandy Ferris about Russell's comments to her after she found him lying in the road.

- Russell Evans was walking downhill at the time he was struck. Why then were his shoes found eighty six feet downhill from him?

- The blow that caused Russell's death caught him 46 inches off the ground more than twice the height of the average car bumper. There was also evidence that Russell may have been restrained at one point due to bruising on his biceps.

- Russell's socks were never recovered. His father believes that they were intentionally discarded at some point due to the fact that they would have been soaked with blood thereby proving that Russell had been in a fight. Police contend that the socks may have been discarded in the emergency room. According to Sandy Ferris she noticed Russell's socks were at the scene when she found him.

- No interviews were conducted with Seyd Matteson the last person to see Russell Evans alive.
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Some further information regarding the altercation at the park the night prior to Russell's death:

"Russell and his companions had an encounter with two other youths at Thorton Murphy Park, near 28th and Ray, about three hours before his death.

The dispute, shoving and verbal exchanges occurred after one of the two youths gave his telephone number to Dawn Hepburn, the girlfriend of Aaron Abrahamson, who was a close friend of Russell Evans.

Abrahamson, Hepburn and other witnesses said that, as the dispute ended, one of the two youths, apparently believing their side was outnumbered pledged to "go get their home boys" and return to even the score.

Russell stayed with seven of his friends, heading south to the Ferris campus. That group included Abrahamson and Brian Buesching, both of whom witnessed the earlier shoving match.

At about 12:05 a.m. Russell telephoned from the home of a friend near 34th and Freya to tell his father he was walking home.

Seyd Matteson of Ferris High School had a chance encounter with Russell at about 12:15 a.m. when they met under a street light at 33rd and Thor.

Matteson recalled that his friend indicated he was walking to his home near Eighth and Thor.

"He was all psyched-up" from the earlier dispute but didn't seem to be in fear of retaliation. Seyd Matteson said.

Seyd Matteson said he accompanied his friend to 29th and Freya before the two said goodbye.

"He was jogging north on Freya toward his home when I last saw him", the teenager recalled.
=========================
One of the papers also interviewed one of the youths which Russell Evans had the dispute with at the park on the evening of his death. The youth agreed to be interviewed under the condition of anonymity:

(speaking about the authorities) "They asked me if I was involved in the killing of Russell Evans, if I caused his death, if I knew who was driving the car that killed him or if I know the person driving the car that killed him. I'm not sure what happened to him. He could have been hit; he could have been beat up. I'm not sure. It could have been anything."

In addition, Seyd Matteson's mother Sue was a school bus driver and relayed an interesting conversation she had with Dawn Hepburn the day after Russell Evans' death.

According to Sue Matteson, Hepburn recalled seeing a note given to Russell a day before his death which warned him, "You'd better watch your back". The note in question has never been found.
=================
The note is a extremely interesting angle considering it was given to Russell prior to the confrontation in the park. Was Russell being targeted for violence even before the seemingly chance altercation in the park? If so it begs the question as to why?

Excerpts from an article entitled "Private Detective Finds Prime Suspects":

- (according to the private investigator) Two of the suspects in Russell's murder gave an alibi but later bragged about taking a muscle relaxant before passing lie detector tests in 1989. Because of those test results, police didn't contact the suspects' alibi witnesses.

- The same suspects were arrested on charges of stealing and selling electronic equipment about two weeks before Russell's death.

- The private investigator located five people who claim they heard one suspect boast about his involvement in Russell's death. Another witness said a gang of youths known as "The School Boyz" assaulted Russell with a bat, then ran over him with a car.

- Witnesses say they are afraid of retaliation from the suspects, some of whom continue to have gang ties.

- One individual interviewed by the private investigator subsequently moved to Ohio afraid of remaining in Spokane due to the fact he knew too much about Russell Evans' death claiming to his mother that "he didn't do it, but he knew who did". This individual's mother also made mention that she herself received death threats from gang members accusing her of helping police. This woman also believed there could have been a connection between the thefts and the death of Russell Evans.

- Court records show the burglary suspects, who were then juveniles struck plea bargains and avoided other charges. Most of them got less than five days in jail.

- John Evans (Russell's dad) believed that the burglars may have later become police informants something that investigators subsequently denied.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1336&dat=19960227&id=PpAyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=pfEDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4857,3957595

interesting collection of new information.

One thing I'm not clear on is how the attack that killed Russell came about. Did the perpetrator(s) go out driving and just happen to chance on Russell walking home? Or did they go out looking for somebody (anybody) in the group of friends to attack? It's doubtful the perps had any sort of knowledge of Russell's (or his friends) routines, etc., so I fear this may be another case of somebody being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The new info about the gang certainly gives the vibe that they were people you don't want to mess with. I'm thinking that's probably why Brian didn't intervene, although I do wish he would have discreetly summoned for help. Instead, Russell had to wait until Sandy Ferris discovered him.

Thanks for all of that info., DarkDante. You did better than UM did, with regards to the amount of information. I wondered what Brian's last name was (Buesching).

Who knew that Spokane, Washington (while not a small town, but not a metropolis either) had such a feared gang at one time?

interesting collection of new information.

One thing I'm not clear on is how the attack that killed Russell came about. Did the perpetrator(s) go out driving and just happen to chance on Russell walking home? Or did they go out looking for somebody (anybody) in the group of friends to attack? It's doubtful the perps had any sort of knowledge of Russell's (or his friends) routines, etc., so I fear this may be another case of somebody being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The new info about the gang certainly gives the vibe that they were people you don't want to mess with. I'm thinking that's probably why Brian didn't intervene, although I do wish he would have discreetly summoned for help. Instead, Russell had to wait until Sandy Ferris discovered him.

It's a lot to take in but yeah I was glad to find it especially because the UM was particularly short on potential motive if you bought into the premeditated murder scenario.

The circumstances regarding how the attack came about to me is very interesting and may or may not say something about the attack itself. In the first article I posted one of the alleged suspects claimed that Russell was initially run over by accident. If this was a wrong place/wrong time scenario where the perpetrators happened upon Russell Evans walking home they may have simply tried to run him off the road or something of that nature and ending up running him over with the vehicle. It's possible in this scenario once they realized they mortally wounded him that they backed over him as he lay in the road to ensure that he would never be able to identify them which is basically what the alleged suspect in the first article said happened.

Of course the problem with this scenario is the fact that Russell had bruises on areas of his body that were not consistent with merely being injured/killed by a vehicle.

One thing worth considering however is that Russell Evans was apparently not very far from his home when he was attacked. The perpetrators may have not known anything about his routines but they may have known where he lived and were stalking him out on that evening. It would be interesting to know if there were different routes that Russell could've taken home on that evening or if the route he chose was either the only route available or the shortest distance between two points?

Regarding the boy named Brian: "Unsolved Mysteries" at least to me really made it seem like Brian may have somehow been involved in setting up Russell to be attacked. While there is no evidence that this is even remotely true, there is the obvious question as to what he was doing at the scene of the crime that late at night? (truthfully what were all these kids doing running around that late at night?). Remember when Russell met up with Seyd Matteson he was alone so it wasn't as if Russell and Brian were together at least at that point of the evening. Logic would obviously dictate that they met up sometime after Russell's encounter with Seyd. I suppose it would be interesting to know if Brian's home was in the vicinity of the attack which would provide a plausible scenario as to why he apparently encountered Russell in that area.

For me the most interesting piece of new evidence to come from these articles was the note that Dawn Hepburn claimed she saw one day prior to the attack. Again I ask why was Russell Evans being threatened by someone to "watch his back" before the altercation in the park even took place? There has to be more to that story there and I'm surprised that no other articles delved into this angle further unless it was subsequently determined that Hepburn was lying about what she saw. If Russell was being threatened it would lead a reasonable person to believe that the altercation in the park may have not been the first time Russell and his buddies had a run in with these other kids. Perhaps there was an ongoing feud between these groups of kids that Russell was involved in and it eventually escalated to the point where Russell Evans was murdered.

It is also obviously possible that the person who wrote the mystery note had nothing to do with the altercation at the park that evening and wanted to cause harm to Russell for reasons known only to himself. Sue Evans (Russell's mom) mentions in the segment that "she couldn't envision anyone wanting to hurt her son" but obviously given that note referenced by Dawn Hepburn, someone did want to hurt Russell and for that matter not less than 24 hours prior to his death.

Thanks for all of that info., DarkDante. You did better than UM did, with regards to the amount of information. I wondered what Brian's last name was (Buesching).

Who knew that Spokane, Washington (while not a small town, but not a metropolis either) had such a feared gang at one time?

I thought you might find this interesting. This article from 1993 speaks about some of the gang activity in and around the Spokane area at that time including the gang mentioned as being allegedly involved in the murder of Russell Evans. It seems that the gang activity in the area had gotten so out of control that the local residents had begun to take matters into their own hands and form some type of task force to fend off the gangs themselves.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1314&dat=19930311&id=Pl1WAAAAIBAJ&sjid=SvADAAAAIBAJ&pg=5806,230907

Russell was just 2 blocks from home when he was killed. If he was being targeted simply by breaking up that fight in the park, his killers would have had a couple hours to find out where he lived and had to have waited for him to walk home.

I don't think it was a hit and run but I also think it's risky for a group of killers to wait for their victim and do him in a mere 2 blocks from his home...even if it is late at night.

http://i901.photobucket.com/albums/ac216/brian222_2010/russellevans1.jpg

That map shows that he lived/this occurred in the southeast part of Spokane: what does it always seem like the southeast section of a city is a more dangerous part of town? That's the way it pretty much is/has been where I live and I know other cities like that as well. It's like it's the designated section for lower-to-middle class residences for every city.

Sorry, this doesn't really add anything to the discussion, just a random thought.

DarkDante, in your research, have you been able to find any articles that give the names of the suspects (guys at the park or their homeboys)?

DarkDante, in your research, have you been able to find any articles that give the names of the suspects (guys at the park or their homeboys)?

No there weren't any articles which quoted names of any of the youths with whom Russell Evans had the alleged altercation with at the park the night of his death.

This is likely due to the fact that none of these youths were ever formally charged in the death of Russell Evans so therefore the papers cannot just arbitrarily print their names without their consent, linking them to Russell's death.

Either way after reading all those articles I have a pretty good theory as to what was the motive behind Russell Evans' death. My feeling is first off, there is no way that Russell Evans died as the result of a hit and run accident. Everything in this case points to murder. In my opinion Russell Evans and his group of friends although not likely gang members or affiliated with any gang activity got themselves in an ongoing dispute with some other youths who did have gang ties and Russell and his friends just got in a little too deep with these other youths and whatever ongoing dispute they had with them resulted in Russell Evans' death.

After reading these articles I'm starting to look at this case the same way I always viewed the Chad Maurer case and that is a generally good kid who may have gotten a little too involved with something or someone he had no business getting involved with in the first place. Call it naivety, call it what you will but I think that is what happened in this case.

Some further thoughts on Russell's friend, "Brian":

Now assuming that Brian was the boy that Sandy Ferris saw at the scene the night Russell Evans was allegedly attacked it does raise some quite frankly disturbing questions:

The first thing that I find disturbing is there has been no concrete evidence as to Brian's movements during the attack. He obviously was not involved in the altercation but assuming he ran off, did he watch the attack from a secluded area because he was scared to death of being attacked himself or did he run from the scene and attempt to get help?

If he didn't run from the scene in an effort to get help, the obvious question would be where did he go and why didn't he attempt to bang on someone's door and get them to notify the authorities that his friend was being assaulted?

According to Sandy Ferris a boy later revealed to be matching the clothing that Brian was allegedly wearing on the evening of the attack was at the scene once she had arrived. Why then when there was no more obvious immediate threat to his well being did Russell's friend not attempt to come to his aide and instead just stood on the sidelines so to speak while others attended to Russell?

To me this pattern of behavior if the individual seen by Sandy Ferris at the scene are equally if not more disturbing than the mysterious phone call to the hospital and the alleged subsequent denial by Brian as to having owned the clothing worn by the individual Sandy Ferris saw at the scene that evening.

Also something else worth pondering. If Russell was indeed the victim of a random hit and run incident as the authorities maintain and Brian was with him when he was run over, wouldn't you think that his friend would have remained by his side after he was hit or at least try to summon help? Also if Russell's death was caused by a mere hit and run accident which was witnessed by Brian, why would he be so evasive regarding a random hit and run accident?

Yep, Brian Buesching still has a lot of explaining to do!

When Sandy Ferris found him, Russell was screaming for Brian to help him. So whether or not the two guys were together when Russell got attacked, he knew Brian was there or at least within shouting distance.

When Sandy Ferris found him, Russell was screaming for Brian to help him. So whether or not the two guys were together when Russell got attacked, he knew Brian was there or at least within shouting distance.

See though dyno, we don't know if Brian was in shouting distance when Sandy Farris arrived or not. He could have merely returned to the scene at some point after she arrived from wherever he ran off to. It would be interesting to know if he remained at the scene throughout the alleged assault or what was going on.

The only thing we can safely assume (unless Russell was just flat out delirious) was that he and Brian were together at some point prior to the attack. Anything beyond that is just pure speculation as to there whereabouts of Brian and mostly surround the questions I asked, most of which have no answers:

Did he take to the hills during the alleged attack, where Sandy Farris later spotted him once medical personnel arrived at the scene?

Did he leave the scene at any point in an effort to summon help for Russell and if not, why didn't he do this?

Why once it had been established that any immediate threat to his well being had dissipated did he not return to his friend's side despite Russell screaming for him to help him?

i dont think i ever put in my thoughts on this case, so i will do so now. i think that Evans was murdered and likely by the teens who had the issue with Russell's friend. my best guess is it was a fight that went out of hand, they saw Evans, remembered him as (in their opinion, cleary not mine) the punk kid who was trying to fight them, so they decided to get pay back on him and fought him, i think Brian may have saw the fight from afar, likely came up to him when the group left and checked on him, didnt want to get involved and then ran off, i wouldnt be shocked if he even set him up and told the guys where Evans was.

The only problem I have with the murdered by the teens from the park theory is that the article states that Russell was found three hours after the altercation in the park. What were the "home boys" doing that entire time? Where they driving around when they just happened onto Russell walking home? What are the odds of that happening? And why brutally kill Russell when the issue was mostly with his friend and his friend's girlfriend? Seems like overkill over a simple fight in the park, IMO.

Anyone else think it's almost an axiom of criminal investigation to speak to every eyewitness to a crime about what they saw? Why police never bothered to interview Sandy Ferris is beyond me.

Like a handful of cases from UM, I feel a score of people know exactly who did this or know someone who does know, and these things were talked about over time at parties involving alcohol where people vent past issues that sound dramatic. But when people of authority are around, like parents, teachers, or cops, everyone has kept an unspoken code of silence.

What gets me about people like "Brian" is why they have not chosen to spill the bills 20+ years after this all happened. My guess is he's friends with at least one of the guys involved with killing Russell.

Yep, Brian Buesching still has a lot of explaining to do!
Probably has a nice seat in Hell warmed up waiting for him too.

I found this today;

In 1989, Russell Evans was killed, by ex- Ferris high school students; one of them told me he did it and he graduated from Ferris in 1988. This is how I was told, for what happened, which killed Russell Evans: A four door car, full with four 18-20 year old young adults, sitting in the back seats of that car was a Darrel (not Darnel) and the killer Thomas J. GROH (TJ). Thomas J. GROH (TJ) told me they were driving down the hill and they saw a tall kid walking on the side of the road, and Thomas J. GROH said they just wanted to scare the kid; the car pulled up next to Russell Evans, like the "Dukes of Hazard", and grabbed a hold of Russell Evans and took off down the hill, holding Russell Evans along the side of the car. When the car took off, down the hill, holding onto Russell Evans, Russell's long legs, went back and under the rear wheel of the car, while Russell Evans was being held by THOMAS J. GROH (TJ)- through the back door window of the car, and Russell Evans feet were ran over by the rear wheel. That is how Russell Evans shoe was found at the top of the hill, and how the shoe had come off from Russell Evans. At the bottom of the hill, Thomas J. GROH (TJ) let Russell Evans go, and that is were Russell Evans had died. Remember that Russell Evans was a tall 12 year, that maybe was thought to be older, because of his height. Thomas J. GROH, a year after Russell Evans murder, had gone to Washington's Walla Walla state prison, for around 7 years for an assault charge. TJ Groh, is the murderer, who told me he was involved, with what is said above; You can even ask TJ Grohs girlfriend, Holly, I'm sure he told her. Also, if anyone would like to debate me on what I was told, then why don't you first do forensics on the two shoes, found on the hill, for tire rubber. Or do those shoes exist today, in Spokanes unsolved murder evidence department. Or could it be a cover up, because you don't see the reward poster, that was in on the wall, inside Spokane south hills Round Table Pizza, on Regal Street. Thomas J. GROH (TJ) showed me that framed reward poster, at that pizza place, after he said what happened to Russell Evans.

https://spokane.craigslist.org/vnn/5847712176.html

Holy cow.

Do family, friends, and authorities know about this? Presumably if it appeared on Craigslist years ago, they've been notified?

Why isn't this getting more traffic?

It looks like Eldivino submitted it to Unsolved and then Unsolved forwarded it to the police.

It looks like Eldivino submitted it to Unsolved and then Unsolved forwarded it to the police.

I certainly hope so, and that the police have something to say about it once it is thoroughly investigated.

I believe both his parents are now dead. Hopefully someone (maybe a sibling?) will still be around to put pressure on detectives.

Early deaths seem to be common among parents that have children that are murdered or found dead under suspicious circumstances. It's cliché but also true in a way that one could say they died from "broken hearts".

Early deaths seem to be common among parents that have children that are murdered or found dead under suspicious circumstances. It's cliché but also true in a way that one could say they died from "broken hearts".

I get it. I read that Brook Baker's mother has also passed away. Go back and check out how she looked in Brook's UM segment. Brook's death probably aged that particular mother by about 20 years. She looked rough. I felt horrible for her.

I cannot imagine the pain of losing a child. I can totally understand how parents die shortly after their children.

I am a family member but never met him (actually my mother, his cousin, induced labor with me 2 weeks early because my due date was the anniversary of Rusty's murder). It is definitely comforting to find that people still care about finding the truth after all these years since everyone close to the case is now gone.

I would like to add that I showed the craigslist post to my mother. She lost it at the detail regarding the poster at the Round Table Pizza. She was close to Rusty and his sister and was at the hospital after he was admitted before he died.

His sister died quite some time ago as well. I am a family member but never met him (actually my mother, his cousin, induced labor with me 2 weeks early because my due date was the anniversary of Rusty's murder). It is definitely comforting to find that people still care about finding the truth after all these years since everyone close to the case is now gone.

I would like to add that I showed the craigslist post to my mother. She lost it at the detail regarding the poster at the Round Table Pizza. She was close to Rusty and his sister and was at the hospital after he was admitted before he died.

Rosabud, thank you for sharing this information. I am sorry to hear about his entire family. That is a lot of loss for even the extended family to deal with.

Please keep us updated if there are any new developments. I didn't even know until now that Brian had died. I thought he was still living, because at one time, I believe I saw where he had posted his own defense on a webboard.

I actually checked on Brian and actually he is alive as far as I know. There was a rumor on their middle school Facebook page that he committed suicide and my mother confirmed she heard that as well but I believe I found his Facebook page which is still active, he just moved far from Spokane.

I know I will be personally contacting Spokane authorities to make sure that this has at least been reported and will probably request a public disclosure of the known assault reports of the man who was named in the post, if they haven't been booked for destruction yet.

I actually checked on Brian and actually he is alive as far as I know. There was a rumor on their middle school Facebook page that he committed suicide and my mother confirmed she heard that as well but I believe I found his Facebook page which is still active, he just moved far from Spokane.

I know I will be personally contacting Spokane authorities to make sure that this has at least been reported and will probably request a public disclosure of the known assault reports of the man who was named in the post, if they haven't been booked for destruction yet.

Thank you for sharing. I am sorry for your loss. Please keep us updated if there are any new developments!

That Craigslist post gave me legit chills.

rosabud, do you know when his sister may have died? And was there oen or two other sisters?

The reason I am asking is because I believed there were two sisters. I had read once that his oldest sister died tragically at a house party. But in a different forum, I have seen someone post claiming to be his younger sister. The younger sister even claimed the authenticity to Brian's earlier post ( http://www.dreamindemon.com/community/threads/cops-say-hit-and-run-parents-say-homicide.11146/ ) .

I guess the reason why I question this is because "Brian" has also posted about Russ's death in these forums. Being the internet, it would make one wonder whether or not Brian was posting as being another sister of Russ's, to validate whatever claim he may have had.

rosabud, do you know when his sister may have died? And was there oen or two other sisters?

The reason I am asking is because I believed there were two sisters. I had read once that his oldest sister died tragically at a house party. But in a different forum, I have seen someone post claiming to be his younger sister. The younger sister even claimed the authenticity to Brian's earlier post ( http://www.dreamindemon.com/community/threads/cops-say-hit-and-run-parents-say-homicide.11146/ ) .

I guess the reason why I question this is because "Brian" has also posted about Russ's death in these forums. Being the internet, it would make one wonder whether or not Brian was posting as being another sister of Russ's, to validate whatever claim he may have had.

Russell'a father John died in 1998 and his mother Susan died in 2011. In her obituary, it only mentioned she had 2 children, Russell and Dianna, so there's only one surviving sister and not two. She is still living. I didn't know about the alleged "Brian" posting here, but it could be a cruel hoax if it turns out the account is fake.

Dianna is still alive, confirmed by my mother earlier today but they haven't spoken in years and she wouldn't give a reason why. She always stated that she has no family but I asked her about Dianna after finding her post on a different thread on this forum from a few years ago. Believe me, I am finding out a lot about my family I was unaware of up until this point.

I messaged who I believe is the real Brian yesterday, not on this forum. I will update if I hear anything back. I am truly shocked at the amount of info I have discovered over the past few days including the blatant lies told to me by family including my mother and late grandmother who was Russell's aunt.

I went into this thinking that I would be researching something from the past and have found that it still has so many connections to the present.

According to WA state Court Records from Spokane Superior TJ Groh was convicted of multiple counts of felony assault 2 in 2 different court cases. I still await to see what come from the Spokane authorities in my Public Disclosure request. I work Law enforcement and Spokane PD and Sheriffs Office is known for taking years to come up with anything usable.

Thank you to everyone on this forum looking into this case as well.

Russell'a father John died in 1998 and his mother Susan died in 2011. In her obituary, it only mentioned she had 2 children, Russell and Dianna, so there's only one surviving sister and not two. She is still living. I didn't know about the alleged "Brian" posting here, but it could be a cruel hoax if it turns out the account is fake.

This is the approximate spot where Russell's body was found. (https://www.google.com/maps/@47.6448395,-117.3610086,3a,75y,50.91h,57.56t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s9uYvInMM9WTQVdPUNPxCyQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e1)

I think UM used a different street for the re-enactment, because nothing from the segment resembles this road. They probably used a different, less busy road to film on. The link above also shows the direction Russell would have been walking in to get back home. I have no idea how he could be struck from behind, and have his body end up at this approximate location, but his shoes would then travel down the hill. I personally think "Brian" is a red herring in this case. The last known person to see Russell alive was one of his friends, who says he saw him jog off, alone. In the segment, Sandy Ferris says that after the police and paramedics had shown up is when she noticed "Brian". I tend to think this person simply saw the lights and decided to see what was going on. Plus, assuming that Brian was the kid in the white shorts, how would he (at 13-14 years old) know which hospital Russell was taken to, and then be spooked enough at the sight of Sandy Ferris seeing him to run away, only to go ahead and call the hospital minutes later? He didn't want to be seen at the scene, so he runs away, but then he makes a phone call inquiring about Russell and gives his name (coincidentally the same name Russell was shouting shortly before he died)? Just too weird to me. And at no point in the segment do they ever mention Brian being with Russell at the park or at his friend's house that night, nor is it mentioned about where exactly Brian lived in relation to where Russell was headed home. Which is another huge point, IMO. The parents would have brought that up in the segment to lend credence to the theory that Russell either ran into Brian at some point, or would've been in close proximity to where he was killed.

My biggest pet peeve with the way the case was handled was that the cops seemed eager to write this off as just an "accidental hit and run"...but that's still a crime! It's not murder, but you would still want to find the person responsible for leaving him in the road to die.

I personally think "Brian" is a red herring in this case. The last known person to see Russell alive was one of his friends, who says he saw him jog off, alone. In the segment, Sandy Ferris says that after the police and paramedics had shown up is when she noticed "Brian". I tend to think this person simply saw the lights and decided to see what was going on. Plus, assuming that Brian was the kid in the white shorts, how would he (at 13-14 years old) know which hospital Russell was taken to, and then be spooked enough at the sight of Sandy Ferris seeing him to run away, only to go ahead and call the hospital minutes later? He didn't want to be seen at the scene, so he runs away, but then he makes a phone call inquiring about Russell and gives his name (coincidentally the same name Russell was shouting shortly before he died)? Just too weird to me. And at no point in the segment do they ever mention Brian being with Russell at the park or at his friend's house that night, nor is it mentioned about where exactly Brian lived in relation to where Russell was headed home. Which is another huge point, IMO. The parents would have brought that up in the segment to lend credence to the theory that Russell either ran into Brian at some point, or would've been in close proximity to where he was killed.

This article mentions Brian's full name and clarifies that he was in the park that night with Russell and witnessed the altercation with the two teens. I get the impression they went their separate ways when Russell went to his friend's house:
https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1314&dat=19900420&id=qzgVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=TwgEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7002,6191812&hl=en

They do mention Russell calling out Brian's name and the sighting of the kid in the bushes, but nothing about the phone call to the hospital or Brian being questioned. You make valid points about Brian being a potential red herring, but I just find it strange that Russell would decide to call out Brian's name if he hadn't seen him for hours (unless he happened to see the kid in the bushes and assumed it was Brian). This is why I lean towards the two teens from the park grabbing backup and crossing paths with Brian at some point, where they forced him to tell them the route Russell would be walking home, so they could ambush him.

My biggest pet peeve with the way the case was handled was that the cops seemed eager to write this off as just an "accidental hit and run"...but that's still a crime! It's not murder, but you would still want to find the person responsible for leaving him in the road to die.

This article from 1996 mentions there being a three-year statute of limitations to file charges for vehicular homicide:
https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1336&dat=19960227&id=PpAyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=pfEDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4857,3957595&hl=en

I looked that up and there appears to be no statute of limitations for vehicular homicide in Washington state these days, but it might have been different back in 1989. Sadly, I think the cops were so adamant about the hit-and-run theory because this meant they could just wash their hands of the case and file it away after three years, whereas there would be no statute of limitations if it was proven Russell was murdered. This is probably why they felt they didn't need to do anything to act on the new leads which were presented to them in 1996.

This article mentions Brian's full name and clarifies that he was in the park that night with Russell and witnessed the altercation with the two teens. I get the impression they went their separate ways when Russell went to his friend's house:
https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1314&dat=19900420&id=qzgVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=TwgEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7002,6191812&hl=en

That article says that Seyd Matteson left Russell at about 12:15 a.m., before he saw him jogging northbound on Freya towards his house. This (https://www.google.com/maps/dir/47.6449676,-117.3609704/47.6283407,-117.3578267/@47.6403102,-117.3639713,3024m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!4m1!3e0) is the most likely route he took to get home in relation to where his body ultimately ended up. And based off of that, IMO, it lends credence to the theory presented by investigators and shown in the UM re-enactment. Once he got onto S Ben Burr Blvd (which turns into S Thor St), I could see how a vehicle making a wide turn off of E 11th Ave would have struck him (if he recoiled, it would have been from behind), and this would explain why his shoes and blood were found where they were, and how his body was actually propelled forward and up the hill.

ETA: Sandy Ferris is interviewed for that article, and she says when she asked Russell his name and what school he went to, he answered her. But when she asked what had happened to him, he just looked up at her. If he was viciously beaten to death by a bunch of thugs, you would think he would have told her. If he was blindsided by a car out of nowhere, however, I could see his non-answer as because it was something that happened so sudden and so fast, he couldn't comprehend what had happened to him.

And obviously this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJ-rFIaJozQ) is of a skater free falling 50 feet down, but he lands on his back, and the impact is forceful enough to have his shoes go flying off. So it is possible, IMO, for a car to have struck him from behind and have his shoes go flying (or falling where the impact was) while he either is flung from, or carried on the hood/bumper area of the car to where his body ultimately was found.

My 4 year old could probably have come up with a better image than this, but here goes:

https://s30.postimg.org/6g5u40qpd/image.png

The 2 red rectangular shapes are possible locations where a vehicle could have made a wide turn onto Ray/Thor St. It's also entirely possible that a drunk driver (or just a reckless driver) was driving southbound on Thor St when they encountered Russell. The white dots are possible routes that Russell would have walked picking up from the path that Seyd Matteson saw him jogging towards home. The tiny green dots are possible points of impact, and the yellow lines are possible trajectories as to where Russell's body was (approximately) found.

Similar case:

On August 21, 1991 in Fayette County, Indiana Jason Bolton and his friend Tim “Tiny” Pursifull Jr had been hanging out. The official story from the police is that Jason and his friend were drinking illegally as both were under age. The teens then decided to go visit Bolton’s father but along the way they became groggy and laid down in the middle of the street. Soon after a man named Duane Grim was driving down the road and saw Pursifull’s body which caused him to swerve his car. This ended with Grim accidentally running over Bolton, who suffered crushed his ribs and a fractured skull. Jason died at the scene.

Bolton’s family found much of this story to ring untrue. For one, Bolton was estranged from his father and barely knew the man, if at all. Secondly, the family started to receive anonymous letters that stated that Jason was actually killed by a group of four people, one of whom was a police officer. Bolton had been tortured and castrated. While Bolton lay dying, bleeding out from his groin wounds, it was determined that a cover-up was needed. The group then prepared a plan and an accident was staged. There were apparently multiple witnesses to the assault but these people are fearful of retribution and refuse to come forward even after nearly twenty-five years have come to pass since the murder.

Jason’s family is actively trying to have his body exhumed in order to check for DNA and other evidence. They run a website to try and help their plight at JusticeForJasonBolton.com

What's sad, disturbing and often overlooked about this case is that Russell was only a 12 year old boy. No matter what happened, why has a 12 year old kid been killed. I wonder what he was doing out by himself at that time and alone?

Early deaths seem to be common among parents that have children that are murdered or found dead under suspicious circumstances. It's cliché but also true in a way that one could say they died from "broken hearts".

Many live to old age-it is more likely due to cancer, heart attacks, badly managed diabetes etc.

What's sad, disturbing and often overlooked about this case is that Russell was only a 12 year old boy. No matter what happened, why has a 12 year old kid been killed. I wonder what he was doing out by himself at that time and alone?

I think Russell probably mostly had a good head on his shoulders and had earned quite a bit of trust from his parents. His dad talked about how Russell had already talked about plans to attend college and be an engineer. So, I think that it was mostly a situation of him having earned the trust of his parents to be out late.

In addition, Spokane, WA is a fairly small city. It's currently around 200,000 people. As a parent in a similar sized city, I wouldn't be too worried about letting a responsible 13-year old hang out with their friends without much supervision. Maybe not quite that late at night, but parents were just more lax in the 80s.

Damn. Just watched this one again and came here looking for a thread on it. At first I wanted to go with the semi-premeditated hit as described on pg 1........then I read the account on pg 2 from that craigslist post and now I'm kind of on the fence.

What puts me there is the description of Russell's injuries (as given by his Dad in the segment) - Occam's Razor doesn't quite explain those away to my satisfaction

I think Russell probably mostly had a good head on his shoulders and had earned quite a bit of trust from his parents. His dad talked about how Russell had already talked about plans to attend college and be an engineer. So, I think that it was mostly a situation of him having earned the trust of his parents to be out late.

In addition, Spokane, WA is a fairly small city. It's currently around 200,000 people. As a parent in a similar sized city, I wouldn't be too worried about letting a responsible 13-year old hang out with their friends without much supervision. Maybe not quite that late at night, but parents were just more lax in the 80s.

Regarding your "lax" comment, maybe so, it's almost 30 years ago now and a different time. But still, I can't get my head around that this was a 12 year old boy and one that's roaming the streets after midnight? A boy...not an adult, not even a teenager. How much trouble can a 12 year old find themselves into that escalates into their death?? Sweet Jesus

Regarding your "lax" comment, maybe so, it's almost 30 years ago now and a different time. But still, I can't get my head around that this was a 12 year old boy and one that's roaming the streets after midnight? A boy...not an adult, not even a teenager. How much trouble can a 12 year old find themselves into that escalates into their death?? Sweet Jesus

I'm with you on this. I grew up in a much smaller community and also went on to be an engineer, and when I was 12 years old (circa 2000) there is no way in hell my parents would have been alright with me walking the streets at midnight.

I'm with you on this. I grew up in a much smaller community and also went on to be an engineer, and when I was 12 years old (circa 2000) there is no way in hell my parents would have been alright with me walking the streets at midnight.

Amen... Despite him looking older, he was 12. He was in junior high. He had no business being out after midnight. That always bothered me, too.

Yes, I realize times were different then, but it was still midnight. My parents also would have flipped out if I was out that late in junior high, especially walking on the streets by myself.

I'm with you on this. I grew up in a much smaller community and also went on to be an engineer, and when I was 12 years old (circa 2000) there is no way in hell my parents would have been alright with me walking the streets at midnight.

Amen... Despite him looking older, he was 12. He was in junior high. He had no business being out after midnight. That always bothered me, too.

Yes, I realize times were different then, but it was still midnight. My parents also would have flipped out if I was out that late in junior high, especially walking on the streets by myself.

Great I'm not alone on this. His parents aren't responsible for his death but they need to have a good look in the mirror as they have horribly failed their duty of care. Probably pointless now as it's 30 years ago.

Just saw this Russell Evans segment. Especially sad case, given that this kid had his whole life ahead of him. Based on what I saw a couple of posts back, the case isn't as "Unsolved" as it initially appears to be - but, it also doesn't sound like anyone has been convicted of the murder, either.

I don't see any huge mystery as to what happened here. RE and his friends were hanging out at a local park late at night (not a good idea, no matter how old you are), and got into an altercation with some older kids - who were possibly/probably in a gang. Later on that same night, as RE was walking home (possibly with a friend, Brian) the same gang of kids saw him (either coincidentally or because they were looking for him), assaulted him, and left him in the street.

Spokane, WA doesn't seem like a huge, bustling metropolis (either in 1989 or now), so it's not farfetched that someone driving around late at night - either actively or casually looking for someone - would be able to find them. This would especially be true if they knew where he lived...given that RE wasn't that far from home at that point.

So, was someone named "Brian" present with RE, and did he run away when RE was assaulted?! Possibly, given that the eyewitness who initially saw RE saw someone nearby. If so, I don't necessarily think that "Brian" had anything to do with the crime, but may have run away because he was justifiably worried that he would be assaulted as well.

Too bad the parents will never get closure at this point (they are both deceased).

The pathologist interviewed says that based off of Russell's injuries to his back, it was most likely a hit and run. He specifically mentions that he was struck by "a bumper and an ornament". I didn't catch that before, but I caught this last night and figured that since several car manufacturers have distinct ornament designs, the injury resembled one. But that begs the question as to why didn't the police release this type of information as to the possible make of the car?

I found this today;

In 1989, Russell Evans was killed, by ex- Ferris high school students; one of them told me he did it and he graduated from Ferris in 1988. This is how I was told, for what happened, which killed Russell Evans: A four door car, full with four 18-20 year old young adults, sitting in the back seats of that car was a Darrel (not Darnel) and the killer Thomas J. GROH (TJ). Thomas J. GROH (TJ) told me they were driving down the hill and they saw a tall kid walking on the side of the road, and Thomas J. GROH said they just wanted to scare the kid; the car pulled up next to Russell Evans, like the "Dukes of Hazard", and grabbed a hold of Russell Evans and took off down the hill, holding Russell Evans along the side of the car. When the car took off, down the hill, holding onto Russell Evans, Russell's long legs, went back and under the rear wheel of the car, while Russell Evans was being held by THOMAS J. GROH (TJ)- through the back door window of the car, and Russell Evans feet were ran over by the rear wheel. That is how Russell Evans shoe was found at the top of the hill, and how the shoe had come off from Russell Evans. At the bottom of the hill, Thomas J. GROH (TJ) let Russell Evans go, and that is were Russell Evans had died. Remember that Russell Evans was a tall 12 year, that maybe was thought to be older, because of his height. Thomas J. GROH, a year after Russell Evans murder, had gone to Washington's Walla Walla state prison, for around 7 years for an assault charge. TJ Groh, is the murderer, who told me he was involved, with what is said above; You can even ask TJ Grohs girlfriend, Holly, I'm sure he told her. Also, if anyone would like to debate me on what I was told, then why don't you first do forensics on the two shoes, found on the hill, for tire rubber. Or do those shoes exist today, in Spokanes unsolved murder evidence department. Or could it be a cover up, because you don't see the reward poster, that was in on the wall, inside Spokane south hills Round Table Pizza, on Regal Street. Thomas J. GROH (TJ) showed me that framed reward poster, at that pizza place, after he said what happened to Russell Evans.

https://spokane.craigslist.org/vnn/5847712176.html

This story makes sense but still doesn't explain the beating that Russell was thought to have endured after he was hit by a car. I do think it could explain why UM went out of their way to talk about how tall he was for his age. In the segment, his height didn't really play a part or make a difference but if this is what really happened, it explains why his height matters.

Thank You for the link to your facebook page, I joined it.

to me this is an obvious murder and I think the Brian guy knows something and he was afraid to come forward. hopefully when he gets older, he feels guilty and comes forward

I think this was another case of the parents not accepting the truth for whatever reason.

Everything about Evans' injuries was normal with being hit by a vehicle. That said, it still could have been murder. However, there is no real evidence to suggest that it wasn't a random hit and run.

I believe this was a hit-and-run. Even of he was targeted by the teens he had a fight with, I believe he was simply hit by a vehicle and nothing more. The idea of him being attacked and beaten up is only based on the parents' interpretation of his injuries and the blood trails and they are certainly no experts.

I believe this was a hit-and-run. Even of he was targeted by the teens he had a fight with, I believe he was simply hit by a vehicle and nothing more. The idea of him being attacked and beaten up is only based on the parents' interpretation of his injuries and the blood trails and they are certainly no experts.

What angers me is, if it was a hit-and-run, the driver got away with murder.

What angers me is, if it was a hit-and-run, the driver got away with murder.


Absolutely, and I think that's awful.

Some further thoughts on Russell's friend, "Brian":

Now assuming that Brian was the boy that Sandy Ferris saw at the scene the night Russell Evans was allegedly attacked it does raise some quite frankly disturbing questions:

The first thing that I find disturbing is there has been no concrete evidence as to Brian's movements during the attack. He obviously was not involved in the altercation but assuming he ran off, did he watch the attack from a secluded area because he was scared to death of being attacked himself or did he run from the scene and attempt to get help?



13-year-olds are not known for their intellectual thinking.

(sorry in advance for this being a bit of a ramble)

I like when specific landmarks are mentioned in true crime stuff, because it allows me to actually orient myself within the environment the events took place in, so seeing specific streets and intersections mentioned in one of DarkDante's posts, I decided to look at the area on Google Maps to get an idea of Russell’s route home, and it's honestly a little odd.

At about 12:05 a.m. Russell telephoned from the home of a friend near 34th and Freya to tell his father he was walking home.

Seyd Matteson of Ferris High School had a chance encounter with Russell at about 12:15 a.m. when they met under a street light at 33rd and Thor.

Matteson recalled that his friend indicated he was walking to his home near Eighth and Thor.

"He was all psyched-up" from the earlier dispute but didn't seem to be in fear of retaliation. Seyd Matteson said.

Seyd Matteson said he accompanied his friend to 29th and Freya before the two said goodbye.

"He was jogging north on Freya toward his home when I last saw him", the teenager recalled.

He seems to have walked West from his friend's house onto Thor St, then a block North to 33rd and Thor, where he met Seyd Matteson. Then he and Seyd walked East to 29th and Freya, where they parted and Russell continued North on Freya St according to Seyd. Then somehow Russell ends up where Ray St merges into Thor, where Sandy Ferris finds him. Assuming the diagram shown in the newspaper is accurate, he was found at a point along the road that would be consistent with him heading back West onto Ray and then travelling North from there at some point after parting ways with Seyd, or continuing North along Freya for about 15 blocks and turning left onto Ben Burr Blvd.

Here’s where his route is confusing me: Why did he seemingly start heading West from his friend’s house, only to turn back and head East when he ran into Seyd? Given his home was near 8th and Thor, the most direct route if he’d already begun heading West would be to continue on to Ray and then continue North, since Ray eventually merges into Thor. This can be explained by Seyd heading East and Russell just wanting to walk with his friend, but in that case, how did he end up back on Ray? If he continued down Freya and took Ben Burr Blvd, it would make more sense, but how did he end up seemingly going back down Ray, away from his home?

While Seyd claims that Russell “didn't seem to be in fear of retaliation”, I do wonder if he started out going West from the friend’s house with the intention of walking North on Ray, but decided against it since it would have taken him right past the park where the altercation occurred. Perhaps he then, regaining his courage, decided to head West again onto Ray (if he’d done this within a few blocks of where Seyd last saw him, he’d have come out right by the park) and ran into one or more of the people involved.

It seems especially odd that he'd take such a convoluted route home right after ringing his father and telling him he was heading home.

I think Russell was walking northbound on S Freya Street for about 1.3 miles and then took a left on S Thor Street to head north to where his home was. This (https://www.google.com/maps/dir/47.62371,+-117.3576/47.6245567,-117.3579623/47.6281866,-117.3579945/47.6421816,-117.3577221/47.6450152,-117.3609622/@47.6340994,-117.3761543,3852m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m15!4m14!1m3!2m2!1d-117.3576!2d47.62371!1m0!1m0!1m5!3m4!1m2!1d-117.3602623!2d47.6431787!3s0x549e22126d71a007:0x5eec5d587857d7c4!1m0!3e0?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MTIwMi4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D) was the most likely route he took.

I think Russell was walking northbound on S Freya Street for about 1.3 miles and then took a left on S Thor Street to head north to where his home was. This (https://www.google.com/maps/dir/47.62371,+-117.3576/47.6245567,-117.3579623/47.6281866,-117.3579945/47.6421816,-117.3577221/47.6450152,-117.3609622/@47.6340994,-117.3761543,3852m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m15!4m14!1m3!2m2!1d-117.3576!2d47.62371!1m0!1m0!1m5!3m4!1m2!1d-117.3602623!2d47.6431787!3s0x549e22126d71a007:0x5eec5d587857d7c4!1m0!3e0?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MTIwMi4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D) was the most likely route he took.

Yeah, that's the Ben Burr Blvd route I mentioned. I do definitely think that's the most likely route.