SPOKANE, Wash. – After nearly 29 years, the family of homicide victim Margaret Anselmo finally have some answers about what happened that awful January day. Anselmo was fatally beaten and sexually assaulted in what investigators believe was a ‘random act of violence.’
For years, Spokane Police worked her case to no avail. DNA found at the crime scene and forensic genetic genealogy finally led them to a suspect’s name, Brian J. Anderson, according to SPD Sgt. Zac Storment.
“If he was alive today, we would request charges for first degree murder and first degree rape,” Storment said of Anderson.
Anderson was 20 at the time of Anselmo’s murder, she was 45. They found nothing to connect them, and don’t believe they knew each other. SPD says Anderson took his own life several years ago.
Anselmo was fatally beaten and raped, according to police. She was found in a downtown alley.
Her daughter Lisa says the moment Sgt. Storment told her he was taking a look at her mother’s cold case, she knew he would be the one to give her answers.
“As soon as I talked to him, it was a big lift off my shoulders. I started crying, I looked up and (said to my mom) we did it,” Lisa said.
Lisa says the years since her mother was so cruelly taken, she’s been filled with fear and anger. With word police have finally identified a suspect, she now says she’s filled with peace.
Anselmo’s murder occurred in the midst of Robert Yates’ terror in Spokane. Lisa had long feared the chaos of that time may have hurt her mother’s case and caused fewer tips to come in. Hayley covered the case in her Q6 cold case series:
This is a developing story. Check back for more information.
