Former Libby woman murdered in Coeur d'Alene
LOREN BENOIT/Press Police authorities gather information outside the Health Resources Center after a women was found dead in the parking lot of Kootenai Health Wednesday afternoon. The woman, in her 30s and from Coeur d’Alene, had a gunshot wound to the head and was discovered in her vehicle by a hospital employee who immediately started life-saving measures.
LOREN BENOIT/Press A police officer exits the Coeur d’Alene Police Command Center parked outside the Health Resources Center at Kootenai Health Wednesday afternoon after a woman was found dead inside a vehicle parked in the north lot of the hospital campus.
Steven T. Denson
COEUR D’ALENE — A former Libby woman was found in a car parked at Kootenai Health in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, with a gunshot wound to her head and died on Wednesday, according to police.
Kelly A. Pease, 37, was discovered by a hospital employee inside her vehicle with a gunshot wound to the head around 2:45 p.m.
A warrant to arrest Steven T. Denson, 61, on suspicion of first-degree murder, has been issued, said a news release issued by the Coeur d’Alene Police Department. Denson, from Post Falls, was recently in a relationship with Pease, police said. He was last seen driving a 2000, white Nissan Pathfinder with Washington plate: A VA9015.
Denson is 6 feet tall, weighs 225 pounds and has gray hair and hazel eyes. He should be considered armed and dangerous.
Coeur d’Alene Police Det. Jared Reneau said the hospital employee who found Pease “immediately started life-saving measures, but it was apparent that the female was deceased.”
Reneau said the initial investigation indicates the apparent crime occurred at the hospital’s parking lot.
Hospital operations continued as normal during the investigation. When asked why the hospital was not locked down during the investigation, Reneau said police did not believe there was a threat to anybody.
“In reviewing surveillance, it appears that anyone who may have had a part in this has left the area,” Reneau said.
“We talked to one individual who thought he heard a gunshot, but that has not been confirmed,” Reneau said.
Anyone with information about Denson’s whereabouts is urged to contact the Coeur d’Alene Police Department immediately at 208-769-2320.