[1]Diagram of crime scene at 101 Wings Way, in the Salkum-Onalaska area
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – Those in the courtroom began to get more clues yesterday about what happened inside the Wings Way house when they heard testimony about where bullet holes, shell casings, three dead males and other items of evidence were found the morning of Aug. 21, 2010.
A 9 mm cartridge case lay on the living room floor and bullet fragments were discovered in various places, including a bedroom, another bedroom described as an office and on the living room floor.
The triple-murder trial of John A. Booth Jr. continued in Lewis County Superior Court with witnesses that included a forensic scientist and the doctor who conducted the autopsies.
Booth, 32, is charged with the fatal shootings in the Salkum-area home of David West Sr. 52, West’s 16-year-old son David West Jr. and a friend Tony E. Williams, 50, of Randle. He is also charged with attempted murder of West Sr.’s girlfriend, Denise Salts, then 51 years old.
Blood was found beneath the heads of each of the three who died, as well as on a coffee table, multiple places on the living room floor, a curio cabinet in the hallway and near door jambs of two bedrooms, according to forensic scientist Brianna Peterson’s testimony on Thursday. Peterson, who works for Washington State Patrol, helped collect evidence from the home.
The body of Tony Williams, 50, was found laying across the narrow hallway in between two bedrooms, Peterson said. He died of a gunshot into his right eye, inflicted at a fairly close range, according to Dr. Emmanuel Lacsina who also took the witness stand.
Lacsina said he conducted all three autopsies on Aug. 23, 2010.
David West Sr., 52, was mortally wounded by a gunshot in his head, but also sustained two “distant” gunshots; one in his abdomen and another in his left thigh, Lacsina said.
His body was found laying in roughly the same location in the living room where the day before, a witness had described he stood as he cocked his 12-gauge shotgun, according to testimony. The gun, with the hammer still cocked, lay on the floor beside him, Peterson said.
Photographs of the crime scene and diagrams were displayed on a large screen, as the witnesses shared information with the jurors.
Family members of one of the victims were present, but left the courtroom as photos of West Jr. were presented inside what has been described as a double-wide modular home.
West Jr.’s body was shown laying wedged in between the end of the couch and a coffee table close to the front door.
He was shot through the left cheek, but a second wound – which was fatal – was a “close range” gunshot to his head that exited under his right ear and was found lodged in his right arm, according to Dr. Lacsina.
Found in the small east bedroom, was a bloody sock and a cartridge case on the floor, as well as a bullet hole on the wall above the bed, according to Peterson.
Among the bullets recovered was one that penetrated the east dining room wall, Peterson testified.
Two metal fragments were found in the other bedroom – used as a computer room, as well as blood on the wall near its door, according to Peterson.
Peterson resumed her testimony this morning, when she spoke of what was found in the kitchen area, where Salts had been found alive in a pool of blood.