SPOKANE, Wash. — Investigators are still piecing together the details of a Nov. 9 shooting that left a 71-year-old man dead in Chief Garry Park which police now suspect may have been a murder-for-hire plot.
According to a search warrant obtained by the Spokesman-Review and shared with NonStop Local, the shooting that left Donald Gunstrom, 71 dead may have been motivated by a love triangle involving a 25-year-old woman, her ex-boyfriend and Gunstrom.
According to the search warrant, Gunstrom was found shot multiple times in the chest, face and head near the intersection of Lacey Street and Riverton Avenue. Police also discovered evidence indicating the victim had been struck or dragged by a car. Officers responding to the scene observed spent shell casings and bullets from a .380-caliber handgun, as well as a pistol magazine in the parking lot in the area of East South Riverton Avenue, where Gunstrom lived.
Police said that they interviewed a witness, the woman who lived in the same apartment complex as Gunstrom, told investigators that her ex-boyfriend had hired someone to kill Gunstrom. The woman said she had been in an on-again, off-again relationship with the 50-year-old man, who had reportedly been physically and mentally abusive. She revealed that the man had previously threatened to kill Gunstrom if she ever returned to him.
According to court documents, the woman described the shooting in detail, explaining that she and Gunstrom had just arrived at his apartment complex when an older white male approached them and opened fire. She said the gunman, who was dressed in dark clothing, appeared suddenly and shot Gunstrom while he was walking toward the building. The woman then ran to a neighbor’s apartment and pounded on the door, fearing for her own life as well, according to court docs.
Security cameras nearby captured footage of a suspect car leaving the scene shortly after the shooting, according to the court documents. Investigators later traced the car to a rental agreement with a Whitman County man, later identified as the 59-year-old suspect. Two days later, his body was found in Montana, about 32 miles east of Billings, at Pompeys Pillar National Monument. Police said that they believe he died by suicide. A .380-caliber handgun was found near his body, and shell casings recovered there appeared similar to those found at the Spokane crime scene.
The car was also located in Montana. Police said that a blood-like substance was found on the car near the engine compartment.
Police said that they have not yet confirmed whether the firearm found with the dead suspect was the weapon used in the killing.
The investigation remains ongoing, and police are urging anyone with info to come forward.
