Colville Man Charged in 1997 Double Murder of Mother, Daughter

Charles Lloyd Tatom, 73, has been charged in the deaths of Marlene Emerson and her daughter Cassie in Stevens County.

This development is more than a a quarter-century in the making. Firefighters discovered Emerson's body in June 1997, after extinguishing a mobile home fire in Colville. A subsequent autopsy revealed knife wounds. Cassie's body was found a month later with similar injuries; the 12-year-old was initially presumed abducted.

Witnesses remarked on Tatom's unusual behavior and altered appearance in the aftermath of the fire. A burn was reportedly visible on his ankle, and his hair appeared singed. But according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for Eastern Washington, Tatom tried to deflect suspicion, seizing on Emerson's affiliation with local bikers. Tatom apparently "hid a blood-stained knife near the home of a former leader in the outlaw motorcycle club community." He "later recovered the knife and claimed that the blood was from gutting an animal."

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But DNA evidence contradicted that explanation.

"During a forensic examination of [Tatom's] Chevy Blazer," writes the Attorney's Office, "investigators found a red stain on the interior of the rear passenger window. The stain tested positive for the presence of blood. DNA was recovered from the sample that was consistent with originating from Cassie."

"Investigators recovered other DNA samples that pointed to both Cassie and Tatom being in the vehicle. A mixed sample of DNA was also recovered from a cigarette butt found in the Blazer that was consistent with both Tatom and Cassie."

The investigation involved a glut of law enforcement agencies over decades, with recent DNA advancements prompting first-degree murder charges.

Tatom is due in court on Friday at 11:00 a.m. If convicted, he faces a maximum life sentence.