Mattawa man's death is murder

MOSES LAKE — An autopsy revealed the man found dead in a farm field near Mattawa Tuesday, was murdered with “sharp force injuries.”

Originally deputies were dispatched to a report of a headless body, then it was reported a man died from a gunshot wound to the head in a field roughly eight miles from Mattawa.

The Hispanic male victim was in his 30s or 40s when he died from “sharp force injuries to his head, chest and abdomen,” according to Grant County Coroner Jerry Jasman on Thursday.

“The manner of death is classified as a homicide,” Jasman stated. “The incident is under investigation by the Grant County Sheriff’s Office.”

There are no recent missing person cases filed in the Mattawa area, Grant County Undersheriff John Turley said.

The corpse was left guarded in the field overnight to allow investigators to work in daylight on Wednesday.

Investigators are following leads, but Turley said he was unable to provide any further details about the murder.