David Murray

dmurray@greatfallstribune.com

The Spokane County Medical Examiner's Office has released the cause and manner of death in the gruesome killing of Bob Tester, a former resident of Great Falls and nephew of U.S. Sen. Jon Tester.

Tester, 35, was found dead Tuesday morning in his home on South Keeney Road, roughly halfway between Spokane and the small community of Spangle, Wash.

According to a news release issued Thursday morning, Tester died as the result of "chop wounds of the head and stab wounds of the chest and abdomen." Contributory factors listed in the news release include "blunt injuries, incised wounds and stab wounds of the head, neck, trunk and extremities."

According to the Spokane County court documents, deputies found Tester’s body Tuesday morning in “a large pool of blood” with "blood on the walls and floor throughout the residence." A wood-splitting ax was nearby, stained with blood.

Deputies also found bags of marijuana near the body, and the home reportedly smelled of pot. The girl’s grandmother told deputies her son grew marijuana for some dispensaries.

Investigators believe Tester's nephew killed with ax

Tester's 8-year-old daughter told Spokane County sheriff’s deputies she was in bed with her father when a man entered the home and awakened them, wielding what she described as “a sword and a knife,” according to court documents.

“The man told her to stay in bed because he was going to kill her dad,” the girl is quoted as telling investigators.

The girl likely didn’t witness the killing. But court documents state she called her grandmother to report his death.

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Court documents don’t mention a person of interest. Sheriff’s Office spokesman Mark Gregory told The Associated Press on Wednesday that detectives are still working to identify the suspect, but they don’t believe the slaying was random and believe the victim probably knew his attacker.

Bob Tester attended C.M. Russell High School and graduated with the class of 2000, according to his Facebook page.

The Spokesman-Review in Spokane contributed to this report.