Law enforcement in Oregon and Washington arrested two people on Sunday, March 24, in connection with a homicide that left a local woman dead at a residence in Hockinson the evening prior.
Clark County Sheriff’s Office deputies found the victim, Lindy Rummell, 60, of Brush Prairie, after responding to a report of a female shot inside a residence in the 18000 block of Northeast 119th Street on the evening of Saturday, March 23. A police report stated Rummell died from apparent gunshot wounds.
After a news tip provided to law enforcement about a suspect in the murder on March 24, law enforcement in Washington and Oregon arrested the victim’s husband, James Rummell, and a friend of his in relation to the case.
According to initial reports, Rummell was found deceased by her husband, James Rummell, and two friends. A 2001 black Ford F-150 was reported missing from the scene, initially indicating a burglary/homicide.
The Eugene Police Department in Eugene, Oregon, arrested Darrell Riley, 55, a friend of James Rummell’s, after the stolen Ford F-150 was recovered in a rural part of Benton County, Oregon. The vehicle was damaged by fire, which appears likely to have been intentionally set to destroy evidence of the murder, a Clark County Sheriff’s Office release stated.
Investigators believe Rummell drove to Eugene to pick Riley up and brought him to Clark County earlier in the day prior to the murder, according to the news release.
“It appears [James Rummell] may have solicited Darrell [Riley] to stage what appeared to be an interrupted burglary to commit the murder of Lindy Rummell,” according to the CCSO report.
The news release stated that, after deputies served a second search warrant at the Rummell residence, Rummell was booked into the Clark County Jail “for making false statements to a public servant,” the release stated. Additional charges are possible as Rummell is being considered a suspect in this murder, the release stated.
Riley is being held on a temporary felony warrant for murder in the first degree in Oregon as requested by the Clark County Sheriff’s Office. He will remain in custody in Oregon while the Clark County Prosecutor’s Office seeks extradition.
The case remains an active investigation.
