Woman found dead at Spokane recycling plant was reported missing

(STORY IMAGE:KHQ.COM)

Murdered then dumped along with trash? That’s a big question after a disturbing discovery where a South Hill woman’s body was found at a Spokane recycling plant last week.

The coroner still has not said how 79-year-old Stephanie Standen died but according to court documents, Spokane Police are investigating it as possible second degree murder.

Standen lived in a home by Roosevelt Elementary School on West 15th Avenue. Her body was found inside a Waste Recycling facility on a conveyer belt located on Geiger, about 10 minutes away from her home.

Court documents say there were several injuries to Standen's body and massive amounts of damage to her head.  Pieces of mail were found near her body.  That mail was traced back to the area of West 15th Avenue where police found there was a missing person's report from a home filed by adult protective services.

Who was missing? Stephanie Standen.

“It's a little disconcerting," said Michael Maloney, a neighbor who lives nearby.

He never met Standen but has seen her before. "I only saw her one morning. I was plowing the sidewalk and I saw her sitting inside of her living room,” said Maloney. However, he did meet someone else from the home who never gave his name.  “About three weeks ago, I was out doing a project out on my side yard, he came by and introduced himself to me and said he was my neighbor and he had moved from Montana," said Maloney.

In court documents, a man told police he lives in the same house as Standen but they are not close. He told police he hadn't seen Standen in the house for three weeks but thought he heard her at some point.

The detective on the case observed a broken picture frame in the dining room area. There were liquid cleaning supplies on the bathroom countertop.

According to court documents, blood was found on a t-shirt, in the living room, in the kitchen sink, kitchen floor, and the recycling bin.

Police say no arrests have been made just yet.

From what neighbors observed, Standen hadn't lived in the home for too long.

Our partners at the Spokesman Review found that Standen lived much of her adult life in the Saint Paul area of Minnesota, with time spent in Kalispell, Montana.