Inset: Edwin Newlander appears in court (KOMO). Background: The wooded area where the victim was found (KOMO).
A Washington state man is facing a murder charge years after a woman was found dead in a wooded area, with investigators saying DNA recovered from a cigarette helped connect him to the victim.
Edwin Newlander, 59, was charged Monday with second-degree murder, nearly five years after police discovered a woman’s body in Tacoma, Washington. According to a probable cause statement reviewed by Law&Crime, officers were called to the scene on Oct. 12, 2021, after reports of a dead body in the woods. During the examination, investigators found male DNA beneath the woman’s fingernails on both hands. Authorities later determined the victim, identified only by the initials K.S., died from strangulation.
The case remained unresolved for several years. Then, in March, investigators said they matched the DNA found on K.S. to a sample connected to a man accused of attacking another woman in 2025.
In the probable cause statement, Newlander allegedly told investigators he last saw K.S. after she got out of his vehicle and headed toward McKinley Park, an area close to where her body was later discovered. He denied hurting her.
Newlander has been charged with second-degree murder in K.S.’s death. He has not been charged in connection with the two sexual assault cases. His next court appearance is scheduled for Sept. 28.
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