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Pullman Police Say Killer Stalked One Victim: Man in Murder-Suicide Followed Ex-Girlfriend for Several Days Before Shooting Her, Friend, Self

Posted on: Thursday, 15 December 2005, 12:00 CST

By Thomas Clouse, The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash., The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash.

Dec. 15--For several days before he killed her, a registered sex offender, Trevor Saunders, from Moscow had been stalking former girlfriend Louissa Thompson, according to Pullman police.

Last Friday night, 27-year-old Thompson came home to her Pullman apartment from her job at Shopko with 25-year-old Peter Zornes of Oakesdale, who had just started working at the same store, Pullman Police Commander Chris Tennant said.

Sometime after midnight, 29-year-old Saunders again came over to Thompson's apartment uninvited, Tennant said. He discovered Thompson and Zornes in the bedroom and shot them both in the head with a .45 caliber, semi-automatic pistol, Tennant said.

"So obviously, she wanted to break off the relationship and (Saunders) couldn't handle that," Tennant said. "Is that jealousy or irrational rage? I don't know."

Autopsy results Wednesday confirmed investigators' theory that Saunders killed Thompson and Zornes before turning the gun on himself, Tennant said. There were no signs of a struggle.

Even though Thompson and Zornes were found in the bedroom, investigators had no indication that they were involved in a relationship, he said.

"They could have had one, but it's not obvious," Tennant said. Zornes "could have stayed overnight as her protector. We don't know."

Based on interviews, investigators learned that Thompson had broken off a relationship with Saunders, who was convicted of rape in Latah County in 1996. In response, Saunders began stalking her but it was never reported to police prior to the killings, Tennant said.

Saunders "was following her around for the last several days. He would show up in her apartment uninvited, giving her flowers and notes and letters," Tennant said.

Investigators don't know whether Saunders had ever met Zornes before that night. "If anybody knows, we'd like to talk to them," he said.

"It's nice to honestly say who the shooter is, who the victims are," Tennant said. "But we have some pieces we'd still like to fill in."

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Source: The Spokesman-Review

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