'I murdered someone, but you're going to have to find him'
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — The woman suspected of killing a fellow patient at Eastern State Hospital pleaded not guilty on Wednesday in Spokane County District Court and was ordered held on $1 million bail.
Court documents show that patient Amber Roberts, 30, led a staff member to the man's body by playing a game of "hot and cold." Authorities claimed she approached the worker early Tuesday morning and said: "I murdered someone, but you're going to have to find him."
According to documents, the staff member searched room to room, with Roberts following and saying: "You're getting warmer."
As the staff member approached the room of 56-year-old Duane E. Charley, Roberts said: "You're hot."
The staff member looked inside and found Charley's body. Roberts said she had strangled him with an electrical cord, the documents show.
The Spokane County Medical Examiner identified Charley, of Grant County, as the man found dead at Eastern State, which is located in the suburb of Medical Lake. He died of strangulation, the medical examiner concluded.
The slaying occurred in the hospital's 31-bed forensics unit, a co-ed ward where criminally insane patients are housed. Roberts has been institutionalized since 2004, after a judge declared her legally insane for attacking a 72-year-old Yakima woman and stealing the woman's car in 2003.
Charley came to the hospital in 1994, after he was acquitted by reason of insanity of taking indecent liberties in a Grant County case.
According to court documents, Roberts entered Charley's room and strangled him, then told Charley's roommate: "Don't say anything or you'll be next."
John Wiley, a spokesman for the state Department of Social and Health Services, said staff who have worked there for three decades cannot recall another homicide at Eastern State. The department operates the hospital.
Roberts appeared in court via video feed from the Spokane County Jail. She wore handcuffs with her hands behind her back. She pleaded not guilty to a charge of first-degree murder.
Mom?.......
I don't think she is right in the head.
waste of money trying her as she is already insane. now the lawsuit begins by the relatives of the murdered man. another $2.5 million lost to poor government management.
I just told my son about this story. He said, "epic crazy."
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I agree.
seems she will have a pretty good insanity defense
Hmmm... So they just let the crazies roam about the asylum? Nice. So, is anyone besides me watching this seasons American Horror Story?
 @Lips No. I had to haul them to Dammasch before it closed and deal with real crazies the even killed and buried bodies in the garden. Perhaps natures way of culling the herd. When I was a kid, I did a huge lawn job at Dammasch State Hospital while the crazies watched. 'One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest' was filmed there...
@boned No, "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" was NOT filmed at Dammasch, it was filmed at the (old) Oregon Stae Hospital, which is where they kept the really nutty ones.
 @MD20-20 You are correct. I was overseas when that movie was filmed and wrongfully assumed that part of it was filmed at Dammasch because many of the shots looked exactly like Dammasch both inside and out.
 @MD20-20  @boned Mad Dog 20/20 . My first experience with drinking. lol
 @Lips Lips, if you were to visit one of those places, you would leave not the same person that went in, you mind would be blown away at how bad the human condition can get..Just trust me when I say that.
 @lee986321 Everything we experience in life changes us to some degree, Lee. It's how you handle that change that makes the difference between growing as a person or letting your experiences diminish you.
 @lee986321 It doesn't surprise me to hear that you've served time, Lee. You're not smart enough to get away with any crime.
 @badcat  @lee986321 Wow Badcat, that was pretty much a personal attack!  I must be missing something or else why would you throw that out, at first glance, an unprovoked barb?  Lee must have annoyed you in an earlier confrontation.
 @lee986321 Visit or reside? There's a big difference.
 @lee986321 You must have been a patron of the Naselle Youth Camp?? I have lived it and you are correct in your summation. Work Traffic Homicide for a number of years dealing with dead kids if you think it gets any worse...