Moscow officers have little new information on motive, victim relationships

Court Proceedings

The man suspected of Saturday’s shooting spree in Moscow that killed three and injured one made his first court appearance in Whitman County Monday afternoon for a felony eluding charge.

John Lee, 29, is being held in Whitman County Jail without bail due to three pending first-degree murder charges and one first-degree attempted murder charge in Latah County. Bail for the eluding charge in Whitman County is set at $500,000 at the request of prosecuting attorney Denis Tracy, but Whitman County Superior Court Judge David Frazier said due to the severity of the charges in Latah County bail for the eluding charge is irrelevant.

“Bail is somewhat moot,” he said. “The circumstances here raise serious issues with public safety.”

Lee is suspected to have shot and killed Moscow residents David Trail, 76; Belinda Niebuhr, 47; and Terri Grzebielski, 61, Saturday as well as critically injure Seattle resident Michael Chin, 39, before fleeing and leading Washington police on a high-speed chase that ended north of Colfax. According to police, he led them on a chase that lasted nearly 25 miles at speeds of 100 mph before he crashed into a ditch.

An arraignment hearing for the felony eluding charge and a preliminary hearing that will address Lee’s extradition to Latah County has been scheduled for 3:30 p.m. Friday.

Frazier said the court appearance Monday was preliminary and meant to inform Lee of his rights and the gravity of charges wavering against him.

Frazier said Lee faces license revocation for one year and a sentence of up to five years in a state institution if convicted of the eluding charge.

As for extradition, the judge informed Lee of the murder charges he faces if extradited back to Latah County and said Lee has until Friday to consult with his court-appointed attorney, Steve Martonick, on how to proceed.

Frazier acknowledged the extradition process is complicated and said Lee has the right to waive the process if he agrees to go with Latah County authorities without an extradition hearing.

The Investigation in Moscow

Meanwhile, in Moscow, officers from the Moscow Police Department, Idaho State Patrol and the Latah County Sheriff’s Department are working together to continue with investigations of the crime scenes.

Moscow Police Chief David Duke said there is still not a clear motive for the shootings, and any history of Lee struggling with mental illness is speculative at this point.

“There’s no history or history of treatment in our records that he’s struggled with mental illness,” Duke said. “Any report of that is entirely speculative.”

Pat Rogers, vice president for Happy Day Restaurants Inc., said Arby’s will remain closed for at least a week until after all memorial ceremonies for the victims have been completed. He said they are in no rush to reopen the restaurant.

The Victims

As for Lee’s relationship to the victims, Duke said little more has been discovered. Lee’s relationship with Niebuhr was a connection through his parents who frequented the Arby’s restaurant where she worked, Duke said.

Trail was Lee’s landlord at the apartment complex on Third Street where Trail was killed in the basement office.

Duke said info was brought forward that Trail approached Lee about a problem he had with the way Lee disposed of some trash, but there are no records that any eviction proceedings were underway.

Duke said Michael Chin has been moved out of the intensive care unit at a hospital in Spokane.

Police hope to travel to Spokane to interview Chin in the coming days and hopefully learn more about what happened at the Third Street location, Duke said.

The Argonaut will continue to provide updates as this story develops.