Tag: jamie-lynn-drake

  • Kevin Newland charged with murder

    Newland charged with Jamie Drake’s murder:

    Kevin Newland has been officially charged in the murder of Jamie Lynn Drake…

    SPOKANE — Kevin Newland was charged in Spokane Superior Court Thursday for the murder of 19-year-old Jamie Lynn Drake. It’s a case where prosecutors are now alleging that robbery was the primary motive in the young woman’s murder.

    New court documents show that when detectives searched Drake’s Ford Mustang after it was recovered in Newland’s possession in western Washington,they found the victim’s stolen credit card sitting right next to the suspect’s wallet in the car’s center console.

    Even though Newland, 20, allegedly admitted strangling Drake to death, Spokane Medical Examiner Dr. Sally Aiken says it appears she was suffocated by a bag placed over her head.

    Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich says Drake was a truly innocent casualty of crime.

    “Miss Drake was still in her work uniform when this happened. She was a very hard working, young individual and it appears he took all that away,” he said.

    Newland’s MySpace is still up and running.

  • Murder charges to be filed against Newland

    Second-degree murder charges requested against Newland :

    SPOKANE — A Spokane County Sheriff detective has requested a Second Degree Murder charge be filed against Kevin Newland in the death of 19-year-old Jamie Lynn Drake.

    Detective Tim Hines filed a Summary of Facts with the Spokane County Prosecutor’s Office Tuesday afternoon detailing the results of his investigation into Drake’s disappearance and murder and determined there was probable cause for the murder charge.

    Hines said Tuesday afternoon that following the prosecutor’s review of the case the requested charge could be upgraded to First Degree Murder.

    And the cause of death for Jamie Lynn Drake has been released…

    Medical Examiner Sally Aiken found in an autopsy that Jamie Drake died of suffocation due to homicidal violence.

  • Witnesses sought in Jamie Lynn Drake case

    Detectives seek potential witnesses in Jamie Drake case:

    Sheriff’s major crimes detectives are looking for four persons that homicide suspect Kevin Wayne Newland said he spent the day with on the day Jamie Lynn Drake was killed.

    According to Newland, he has been living a transient lifestyle and spending nights in city and county parks. On Thursday, June 22, he was at Chief Garry Park at Mission and Greene when he met four people who invited him to go drinking with them.

    One of the men was named “John” and drove a dark blue Ford F-150 pickup.

    A second man was called “Louis” and a woman was called “Boo.” The fourth person, another male, went unidentified. These last three were in a dark gray or black Acura.

    Newland and the four drove to a spot along the Little Spokane River north of Commellini’s Restaurant where they drank alcohol. At some point there was a disagreement and John used his pickup to drive Newland to Jamie Drake’s apartment so he could talk with her roommate who was his girlfriend.

    Detective Jim Dresback asks that these four people call him at the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office major crimes unit, 509-477-2714.

    In addition to these four potential witnesses, detectives asked that anyone else who had contact with Kevin Wayne Newland on Thursday, June 22, to call the sheriff’s office.

    An autopsy was performed late Friday afternoon, but the medical examiner is awaiting further tests before announcing the cause of death in Jamie Drake’s homicide.

    Transient yet he has a MySpace profile. Anyway, it sounds like he’s trying to shift the blame to his new drinking buddies even though he was found driving Jamie Lynn Drake’s car and her body was found in his family’s cabin. If he didn’t kill her he sure was involved.

  • Jamie Lynn Drake’s body found

    Missing woman’s body believed found:

    Jamie Lynn Drake who I told you about here has been found but sadly not alive…

    ADDY, Wash. — The search for a 19-year-old Mead woman ended Friday in rural Stevens County, where detectives apparently located the body of Jamie Lynn Drake under the floorboards of a tiny cabin.

    The suspect, 20-year-old Kevin Wayne Newland, allegedly led detectives to the site in a late-night drive through the forested back roads northwest of Addy, Wash.

    “They said, ‘OK, why are we here?’ He walked over and pulled open the hatch and walked away,’” said Sgt. Dave Reagan of the Spokane County Sheriff’s Department.

    The discovery of the body, wrapped in a blue plastic tarp, ended the statewide search for Drake, who disappeared on June 23. Reagan said detectives believe that Drake was killed at her apartment and her body moved to the cabin.

    Drake’s family released a statement on Friday thanking law enforcement for their work and urging families “to celebrate what they have.”

    “We should all be reminded that life is very precious and we should let all of those around us know how special they are to us,” the family said.

    After a statewide alert, Newland was arrested Tuesday in King County when he was found driving the Mustang.

    According to a search warrant filed in Spokane County District Court, Newland told one acquaintance that he bought the car in Kennewick, Wash., for $3,200 from someone a guy who just got out of prison; he told a second friend that he bought it in a bar.

    The court documents said Newland later told a detective that he bought the car from a man male in Spokane named Jamie, who did not have the car’s title.

    Arrested on suspicion of possessing stolen property, Newland was transferred to Spokane on Thursday afternoon. Within hours, he led detectives to the cabin, Reagan said.

    “They just kept talking to him and chipping away,” Reagan said.

    Stevens County sheriff’s personnel guarded the cabin overnight, as Spokane County officers worked to secure a search warrant.

    “We had great teamwork throughout the state,” said Spokane Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich, who traveled to the site himself. “It brought this to a very, very short resolution.”

    By mid-afternoon on Friday, sheriff’s deputies had finished the recovery at the cabin, which they believe is owned by Newland’s mother. The small red cabin, ringed with white Christmas lights, is on Marble Valley Basin Road.

    In Stevens County, Newland has prior convictions for second-degree theft, vehicle prowling and theft of a firearm, according a bench warrant issued on Thursday.

    Reagan declined to discuss a possible motive or the cause of death, pending an autopsy.

    The Sheriff’s Office said additional charges are expected to be filed against Newland in the coming days.

    On Friday, about 70 friends gathered at MEAD Alternative High School, where Drake had graduated in the spring.

    “There are a lot of people who were touched by Jamie,” said Dave Vaughn, a counselor at Mead High School. “One person said, ‘If you met Jamie once, you were impacted for life.’ ”

    After graduation, Drake moved in with her friend Jordan Sheffield at Deer Run Apartments and was looking toward the future.

    Newland can now be added to the MySpace Rogues Gallery.

    My thoughts and prayers go out to the Drake family.

  • MISSING: Jamie Lynn Drake

    Spokane Teen Jamie Lynn Drake, Missing Since June 23rd:

    Another fine article at Crime Library from crime blogging’s godfather Steve Huff. The article is about Jamie Lynn Drake of Spokane, Washington who went missing recently. her car was found being driven by a former male roommate…

    Spokane, Wash. (Crime Library) The last time anyone saw Jamie Lynn Drake, age 19, she was at a friend’s apartment in Spokane, Washington (WA). That was on Friday morning, June 23, 2006.

    Jamie’s car, a 1993 Ford Mustang, was found on Tuesday night, June 27, 2006. Spokane police arrested a 20-year-old acquaintance of Jamie Lynn Drake’s named Kevin Wayne Newland (Spokane press reports spell Kevin’s last name ‘Newlund’), who was driving the car. At one time Newland roomed with Jamie and a female roommate.

    Kevin Newland was charged with possession of stolen property.

    Jamie Lynn Drake is still missing.

    According to articles published in the Spokane Spokesman-Review published on June 28, 2006, Jamie left work at 11:30 on Thursday the 22nd. She was going to visit a man she’d recently met.

    Her makeup bag was later found in the man’s apartment. His name is being withheld, but authorities in Spokane indicate that he is cooperating with the investigation.

    Here is the MySpace of Jamie Lynn Drake. And here is the MySpace of the man arrested for driving her car, Kevin Wayne Newland.