Warning: This story contains graphic information.
SPOKANE, Wash. – Newly obtained court documents allege that a Spokane murder suspect shot and killed her roommate following a sexual assault before putting his body in a freezer.
A man called 911 on Thursday, Feb. 20 to report that he had received a phone call from a friend identified as 36-year-old Melissa Martin. She allegedly told him that she was raped by her roommate, shot him and then placed his body in a freezer, according to court documents.
Martin also alleged that a friend she identified as “Rowdy” helped her shoot the man and put his body in a freezer, documents say.
"Rowdy," also known as Brian Riley, is also a suspect in an attempted murder in Spokane Valley. He's currently being held in the Spokane County Jail on a $500,000 bond.
Riley has denied involvement in the Hillyard murder investigation.
Martin pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder during a court appearance on Monday afternoon and a judge set her bond at $500,000.
The man who called 911 told police that Martin called him at 2 a.m., which was an unusual time to get a call from her, court documents say. He added that Martin sounded scared.
Martin allegedly told the man that she had been “hanging out” with a woman’s boyfriend and that they smoked meth together, court documents say. She said the victim was naked in bed with her when she woke up and she discovered that she had been raped.
She allegedly told her the man that the victim started touching her, so she pulled out her pistol and shot him, documents say. The man told police she was begging him to come to the house to help her, but he refused and told her to call 911.
The man was unable to provide police with a specific address but provided a detailed description on how to find the home, according to court documents. He told police there should be a Volvo sedan and a Chevy Malibu parked out front.
He added that Martin allegedly owns several firearms, documents say.
Martin later told police that she had been assaulted that night, but refused to provide her location or further information, documents say.
Court documents say Martin called the man again and allegedly called him a “rat” for contacting police.
When officers arrived at the home in the 1600 block of East Rockwell Avenue, they saw a carpet or area rugs hanging on the chain-link fence that ran the perimeter of the front yard. They also smelled burning plastic from home’s driveway.
A large shopping bag filled with pens and markers was also in the driveway, court documents say.
Officers later saw a fire pit with what appeared to be smoldering trash and lightly colored bedding, according to court documents. A piece of burned carpet was also underneath the bedding.
An officer later saw what appeared to be bloodstains on the smoldering bedding, court documents say.
According to court documents, an officer called a woman who identified herself as Melissa on the phone. She hung up when he identified himself as a police officer.
The officer also saw a security camera in the lower right-hand corner of the east window positioned to observe the front yard, court documents say.
According to court documents, an officer also saw a pillow that appeared to be covered in fresh blood and had a hole consistent with a bullet.
During a search on the home on Feb. 20, investigators found a deceased man in the basement of the house in a freezer, court documents say. He appeared to have a gunshot wound to the head.
Investigators also found a crystalline substance on the floor consistent with methamphetamine, according to court documents.
According to court documents, a large amount of blood was also found in the downstairs bedroom on the carpet, along with staining consistent with splashed bleach.
Martin tells detective that she shot man in the head after assault
A detective interviewed Martin after her arrest on Friday, Feb. 21. She said she and her roommate, identified as the deceased man, were at their shared home using drugs in his basement bedroom.
Martin told the detective that she awoke to him on top of her having sex with her without her permission, according to court documents.
According to court documents, Martin told the detective that she told her roommate to get off of her after he initially told her to “shut up.”
Martin said she told other housemates about the assault but did not report it to police, documents say. Later that afternoon, she said she went down to the man’s bedroom to ask about getting heroin from him.
According to court documents, Martin told investigators that her roommate touched her left breast and grabbed her inner thigh. When he returned to weigh the drugs, she said she fired a single round from her pistol and struck him in the back of the head.
Martin did not notify police or medical personnel so life-saving attempts could be made, according to court documents.
Martin told investigators that she made multiple attempts to change or alter the shooting scene, including hiding the body in a freezing, using bleach and other cleaners to clan the blood, and setting fire to items soiled with blood in the backyard firepit, documents say.
According to court documents, Martin said her friend Riley, helped her with cleanup and moving the body to the freezer before fleeing the home.
Martin said at the end of the interview that she lied about Riley using the gun to shoot the man while she was in the room, documents say.
Investigators also spoke to the victim’s girlfriend, who said she arrived at the home sometime after 6 p.m. on Feb. 19. She found Riley outside of the home, whose pupils appeared dilated to her, documents say. He told her to talk to Martin.
Martin told the victim’s girlfriend that the man raped her “and I hurt him,” documents say.
As the victim’s girlfriend left the home, she saw Riley fleeing in her green trailblazer. She tried several times to reach her boyfriend via phone but could not, documents say.
A detective later observed the call logs on the friend’s phone and verified the times of the calls placed by Martin, documents say. He also saw several calls between the friend and 911.