Washington cold case solved after 28 years; suspect identified in 1997 murder

Authorities in Washington state have solved a 28-year-old cold case, identifying the man responsible for the 1997 killing of Margaret M. Anselmo, according to the Spokane Police Department. The suspect, Brian James Anderson, died in 2009.

Anselmo, who was 45, was found on the morning of Jan. 3, 1997, in the 700 block of East Pacific Avenue in Spokane. Police said she had suffered severe head trauma and showed signs of sexual assault. The Spokane County Medical Examiner ruled her death a homicide caused by blunt force trauma.

For decades, investigators were unable to link anyone to the crime. A DNA profile was developed from evidence at the scene and entered into the FBI’s CODIS database, but no match was found.

In 2022, Spokane detectives and the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab submitted the evidence to Othram, a forensic DNA laboratory in Texas, where scientists generated an advanced DNA profile for genealogical analysis.

According to police, local genealogist Lynda Keenan assisted detectives in identifying relatives linked to the profile. Several family members provided DNA and background information, which Othram used to conduct kinship analysis.

Investigators determined that one family member was Anderson’s child and another his half-brother, making Anderson the only possible match.

DNASolves, a platform associated with Othram, said Anderson was born in 1976 and was 20 years old when Anselmo was killed. He died by suicide in 2009 in Pend Oreille County and is buried in Newport, Washington. His name had not appeared in earlier investigations.

Police said that if Anderson were alive, they would seek charges of first-degree murder and first-degree rape.