NEWPORT, Wash. – A prosecutor has filed charges against a man accused of tying a rope around the neck of a college student who was fatally dragged 13 miles behind a pickup truck.
Pend Oreille County Deputy Prosecutor Tony Koures said Thursday he filed documents charging Wendell C. Sinn Jr. with second-degree murder, or first-degree manslaughter, in the Nov. 24 dragging death of Jerid Sturman-Camyn.
According to witnesses, Sturman-Camyn, a 20-year-old martial arts enthusiast, became violent and out of control at a northeastern Washington hunting camp.
Court documents allege that Sinn, 45, of Newman Lake near Spokane, tied a rope to the truck's trailer hitch and placed a noose around the neck of Sturman-Camyn when the young man was distracted.
Sinn yelled to his 17-year-old son, Justin D. Sinn, to drive away, the court documents allege. An autopsy concluded Sturman-Camyn died of strangulation.
In an affidavit of probable cause, Pend Oreille County sheriff's Deputy Tony Ingram said the younger Sinn apparently wasn't aware he was dragging Sturman-Camyn when he sped away, but Koures said Wednesday he thinks there is more to the story and the investigation continues.
Koures was not in his office late Thursday afternoon for additional comment. A message left on his voice mail was not immediately returned.
Wendell Sinn, who had been arrested for investigation of second-degree murder or first-degree manslaughter, remained free on $100,000 bail Thursday. A message left at the Sinn family home was not immediately returned.
Sinn's lawyer, John P. Nollette, has said that evidence will show his client acted in self-defense and to protect the others at the campsite from Sturman-Camyn.
Sturman-Camyn had been attending Eastern Washington University in Cheney. He had also been training at the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu club of Spokane for about eight months.
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