1996 Witness Regarding Russell Evans Murder

[DarkDante]

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/199...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.

[1990 UM fan]

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.

[Steve W.]

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?

[Matt C]

Originally Posted by Steve W.

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.

[DarkDante]

Originally Posted by 1990 UM fan

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?

[Matt C]

Originally Posted by DarkDante

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.

[DarkDante]

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.
===================================
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?

[DarkDante]

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?ni...g=4857,3957595

[wiseguy182]

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.

[Steve W.]

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?

[DarkDante]

Originally Posted by wiseguy182

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.

[DarkDante]

Originally Posted by Steve W.

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?ni...pg=5806,230907

[dynoguy88]

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.

[Steve W.]

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.

[Steve W.]

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)?