On Tuesday, CDLLife brought you the story of a bizarre incident on I-90 near Ritzville, Washington, in which a husband and wife trucking team discovered a homicide victim in the road. Their discovery helped lead to the arrest of a suspect and the rescue of a three year old child. Now, investigators have uncovered shocking details about the murder — which makes the plight of the truckers who found themselves involved all the more troubling.
Truckers Call 911 And Return To Offer Aid After Spotting Suspicious Scene On I-90
The incident began on March 1 around 2:40 a.m. on I-90 about 20 miles west of Ritzville when husband and wife team drivers Brian and Melissa Stephens encountered what appeared to be a broken down car. Melissa noticed someone lying in the road as they drove by. The pair decided to turn around and see if they could help. As they did, they observed a man and a child walking away from the car.
When they arrived at the car, Brian was on the phone with 911 dispatchers when he discovered the body of a woman who had been murdered. She was partially nude with a screwdriver in her chest. When police arrived, the Stephens’s mentioned the man and child that they had observed, which led to the arrest of the murder suspect and the rescue of a three year old boy, who was the son of the murder victim and the man who had been arrested, 33-year-old Manuel Argomaniz Camargo.
Suspect Believed Victim Was A Witch, Killed Her In Front Of Their Son
During the investigation after his arrest, Camargo told detectives that he drove from Chicago to Washington State with the victim and the child with the intent of selling a pound of methamphetamine. During the trip, he consumed meth and cocaine to stay awake.
He eventually came to believe that the victim was a witch who was trying to kill him by controlling the car. The couple began arguing and the victim reportedly sliced Camargo’s finger with a knife from the console. They stopped the car and the couple continued to argue. Camargo took the blade the victim had cut him with and stabbed her several times.
Camargo had lost the keys to car, so he used a hammer to break the window. The victim, still alive, tried to grab her son while Camargo was distracted. At this point, Camargo hit her in the face with the hammer, then continued to beat her with the hammer. He dragged her body to the side of the car, out of sight from the child.
He tried to light the victim’s body and the car on fire but failed, so he stabbed her several times with a screwdriver, though he admitted she was already dead by this time.
Carmago told authorities he would never regret what he did. He is being held on a $2 million bond.
Shaken Truckers Focus On The Victim And Her Child
On the other side of this horrific story are the truckers who discovered the severely damaged body. Brian Stephens contacted CDLLife to express his and Melissa’s deep sorrow for the victim and the child who witnessed his father murder his mother. They even go so far as to make the extraordinary gesture to offer to take in the child. They also offer good advice to other truckers who might be on the fence about getting involved.
In an email, Stephens wrote: “All we can say is that we are deeply saddened by the events of that night and myself and Melissa extend our condolences to the victim’s family. We have talked in length about what we came upon that night and if there are no family members able or willing to take in that little boy we world definitely consider seeing what we would need to do to adopt that little boy. We owe that to his mother to give her son the best possible life. Melissa would stop driving to be with him every day. We just encourage drivers if you see something out of the ordinary you don’t have to stop but call 911 because you never know but it could save a life.”
Sources:
NBC 4i
KXLY
KOMO News
KATU