Trial starts this week for Spokane serial killer

Jeff Humphrey by Jeff Humphrey

The opening statements in a trial for a suspected serial killer accused of murdering three Spokane women back in 1990 will be made Friday.

Donna Perry has been waiting for her day in court for nearly three years. She was originally booked into Spokane County Jail under the name of Douglas Perry.

That’s because at the time of these murders Perry was a man but since then has undergone gender reassignment surgery.

Perry, who is now 65-years-old, is accused of shooting the victims and dumping their bodies along the Spokane River.

All of the women worked as prostitutes.

Kathy Brisbois was found near Trent and Pines where investigators believe she had fought with her attacker.

15 years later, Brisbois’ fingernails resubmitted to the State Patrol Crime Lab where forensic scientists found a DNA profile that matched Donna Perry’s.

Perry’s defense attorneys say there are no DNA match-ups.

Detectives insist there’s a lot of physical evidence that ties Perry to the killings.

Perry’s new defense attorneys say there are no DNA match-ups and the bottle of lubricant was found in a dumpster, not Lowe’s purse.

“With the evidence that was submitted, there were fingerprints located on a bottle of lubricant that was in Nickie Lowe’s purse which matched Donna Perry’s,” said Deputy Craig Chamberlin, Spokane County Sheriff’s Office. “And also a blanket that was submitted that was in Yolanda Sapp’s property had DNA that also matched Donna Perry.”

In court Monday, attorneys agreed Perry’s jury could hear her DNA was in the system because she’s a convicted felon but not the charge that previously sent her to prison.

COPYRIGHT 2020 BY KXLY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.