The Unsolved Murder of Kristen David

The haunting story of a young girl last seen on her bike near a brown van has rocked the county and cities of Clarkston and Lewiston for decades.

Kristen David was 22 years old and a senior at the University of Idaho, majoring in broadcast journalism, when she disappeared, was murdered, and disposed of.

It was early July 1981 when her dismembered remains washed up on the shores of the Snake River in Whitman County.

David was last seen alive along Highway 95 near Lewiston. She was riding her blue 10-speed bike on Friday, June 26, 1981.

Locals in the area reported seeing a suspicious well-kept brown van with yellow license plates and dark lettering near her.

David was identified in early July 1981 after the dietician confidently identified her remains through dental records.

A completed autopsy report was released on August 27, 1981, detailing the matter of death.

David’s x-rays showed multiple foreign metallic fragments in her skull, which indicated a gunfire blow to the head.

Autopsy findings reported the death to have occurred around June 26, 1981.

Her body was dismembered post-mortem, stuffed into black garbage bags, sealed, and tossed into the Snake River.

Some of her remains, such as her arm, were wrapped in the April 1981 newspaper issues from the Lewiston Tribune.

They found little blood in her body and almost no internal organs. She was dismembered through the joints, which the pathologist at the time, Robert W. Bonifaci, noted to be somewhat interesting as a similar case in Wenatchee, which occurred around the same time, showed a victim dismembered through bone. Indicating that the killer of David may have had experience in butchering animals or possibly other victims from elsewhere.

“I refer to the fact that the various dismembering incisions are relatively skillfully directed toward the joints with only a couple of areas of bony damage in the course of dismemberment. To me, this implies a certain amount of prior experience, physical strength, and proper equipment,” Boniface said in the report.

The pathologist also found two well-defined bruises on her upper left buttocks measuring approximately 2 cm in diameter.

“These really are the only fresh wounds I see on the body,” he stated.

Boniface also observed that David’s hands showed no defense marks, and sperm was not identifiable in the vaginal washing.

Boniface was certain that the round shot into David’s head was 2mm long and shot at a downward angle into the anterior facial bones.

“I, personally, feel it is reasonable to assume that the single gunshot would of the brain was the cause of death and quite probably the first in her series of perimortem injuries,” said Boniface in a letter to Whitman County Coroner Pete Martin.

Toxicology reports could not identify antibodies from bloody tissue fluid; however, they found a brain alcohol level of .10 grams percent and a negative blood screen.

Kristen David’s case has been tossed around to various jurisdictions and even fell into the hands of the FBI. Her case now sits at the Whitman County Sheriff’s office alongside the other unsolved murders of Dorothy Walker and Joyce LePage.

Several suspects were under the radar of various detectives and FBI agents over the years.

Detectives developed a psychological profile of the murderer, stating he was a white male in his 20s or early 30s, would have had bite marks or stab wounds and some bruising from the attack, drove a brown van, and potentially had souvenirs from the murder to continue his tantalization.

He would have weighed approximately 180 pounds and stood around 5’10” tall.

Eyewitnesses saw David with the man in the brown van and characterized the man as stocky or husky with a beard.

Another witness reported the suspect’s hair and beard as brown and another as red/reddish. However, no precise hair or beard color has been identified., After the crime, the suspect may have shaved his beard and hair or potentially altered his appearance in another way.

Kristen David’s unsolved murder is one of many disappearances and unsolved crimes near the Asotin and Lewiston areas.

There are five other reported decades-old disappearances of people along the Snake River in the area from around the same time.

The FBI reopened the case in 2021 and is still hoping to receive more information on the case of Kristen David’s unsolved murder. The Whitman County Sheriff’s office asks for tips or further information about David’s disappearance and murder. For any information, contact the Whitman County Sheriff’s Office at 509-397-6266.