MOSES LAKE, Wash. — Two people were killed by explosions 10 hours apart in Grant County 14 years ago.
One man, William Arleigh Walker, 69, was found dead from severe trauma to his neck and chest in his shop outside Moses Lake, Undersheriff John Turley said.
The next day, Javier Martinez Adame, 53, was found dead on his kitchen floor with wounds to his chest and stomach. The home smelled of sulfur, and authorities determined "an explosive device Adame may have been handling at the time had exploded, killing him almost instantly," Turley said.
First explosion - Aug. 2, 2008
On that Saturday morning, William Walker, a retired electrician from Ohio, came out of his house and found a battery charger outside of his shop. He then took it inside and plugged it in. There was an improvised explosive device (IED) inside the charger and when it was plugged in, it detonated and killed him instantly.
Heather Welker is William Walker’s granddaughter. She lives on the property where her grandfather lived.
“Why would someone do that to a 69-year-old man, who did what he could for anybody?” Welker asked.
“We’ve always believed that Bill was a case of mistaken identity,” said Grant County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Kyle Foreman.
No one expected that 10 hours later, a second bomb would go off, killing another man.
Moses Lake bombing victim William Walker
Second explosion - Aug. 3, 2008
The second bombing was just about six miles away from Bill's home.
A police scanner was left in a sack outside Javier Adame's home. Officials aren’t sure how it was brought inside, but when Adame set it down on the counter, it detonated and killed him instantly.
But he wasn't home alone. He shielded his girlfriend, Heather Smith, from the blast and she survived.
Raquel Adame, Javier's daughter told the Unsolved Northwest team that she can't speak about the tragic incident without getting emotional.
"The entire lot was blocked off by police and personnel and they wouldn’t let us cross the driveway," she recalled. "How could this have happened to two different men way across town and what was the reason behind it?"
Detectives still have not pinpointed a connection between Walker and Adame. However, they do believe the bombs were made by the same people.
“Somebody out there knows something. I beg you please say something if you know something. They deserve justice. We want answers. He deserves to rest in peace," Raquel said.
Moses Lake bombing victim Javier Martinez Adame
The bombs were 'clearly' made by the same people
Brennan Phillips is a retired ATF Senior Explosive Officer. He was called to both crime scenes in Moses Lake to investigate the deadly explosions.
"Real malice and forethought occurred here. Somebody built a bomb, disguised a bomb and they designed it in such a way that it would be operated by the victim," Phillips said.
Detectives were able to recover a lot of evidence from the scene. They said both the battery charger and police scanner were items anyone can buy. And it wasn’t unusual for the victims to have those items.
"The bomb that killed Walker and the bomb that killed Javier Adame were clearly made by the same people," Foreman said.
"Most pipe bombs we see are filled with explosive powder. Fireworks powder, all these things are readily available," Phillips said. "They can be misused."
Foreman agreed, saying this was the work of someone who was very skilled.
"There's nothing that’s happened since 2008 that has come close or has any resemblance to the bombing that happened back then," he said.
Foreman says this case has always stuck with him and the agency.
"It’s so unique and unusual. It’s not unusual to have homicides by firearms and stabbings and completely unusual to have it caused by bombs. And so that’s why it sticks in our memory and with it being unsolved it’s on the forefront of our memory all the time because we want to get it solved."
Anyone with information is urged to contact the Grant County Sheriff’s Office at (509) 754-2018.
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