*Updated Story (1/19/23)*
The Whitman County Coroner’s Office has confirmed the identification of the deceased individual to be 35-year-old Chase Catelli. The cause of death is multiple gunshots. The manner of death was ruled homicide.
——————————————————
Original Story (1/17/23)
SPOKANE – Spokane County Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Detectives have arrested a 58-year-old woman after she confessed that she shot and killed her 35-year-old son before disposing of his body in Whitman County last summer.
58-year-old Christine D. Catelli was booked into the Spokane County Jail and charged with Murder 2nd Degree, according to a press release from the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office.
On January 14, 2023, at approximately 8:50 pm, Spokane County Deputies responded to a suspicious call report. The caller reportedly stated that his sister had confessed to shooting her son last June. The caller also stated that the victim (his nephew) had not been seen since then and that he believed his sister was telling the truth.
Deputies responded and made contact with the caller and the suspect, 58-year-old Christine D. Catelli. According to the press release, the caller told police that Catelli had confided in him on January 14, 2023, stating she killed her son in June 2022. The caller then drove Christine Catelli from his home on the west side of the state back to Spokane County to report the crime and to assist law enforcement with recovering the victim’s remains that had been dumped in Whitman County.
Major Crimes Detectives then responded and spoke with Catelli, who confessed. Catelli reportedly explained she shot the victim several times at a residence in the 1400 block of W. Jennings Road last June. Catelli then led Investigators to Gene Webb Road, near Rock Lake, in Whitman County. She told Detectives after shooting her son, she wrapped his body in black plastic and dumped his remain at the location while discarding other pieces of evidence along the way.
In the exact area that Catelli had advised, detectives located a large, black plastic bag containing human remains. Whitman County Sheriff’s Deputies secured the scene until the next day, when the scene could be searched for evidence during the light of day.
Christine Catelli was arrested for Murder 2nd Degree and transported and booked into the Spokane County Jail, where she remains.
This remains an active investigation.
