Inset: Edwin Newlander appears in court (KOMO). Background: The wooded area where the victim was found (KOMO).
A years-old Tacoma homicide investigation has led to an arrest after authorities say DNA evidence, reportedly recovered from a cigarette, connected a Washington man to a woman whose body was discovered in a wooded area.
Edwin Newlander, 59, was charged Monday with second-degree murder, nearly five years after police found the woman’s remains in Tacoma, Washington. A probable cause statement reviewed by Law&Crime says officers were called to the scene on Oct. 12, 2021, after reports of a dead body in the woods. During the examination, investigators discovered male DNA beneath the victim’s fingernails on both hands. The woman, identified in court records only as K.S., was determined to have died by strangulation.
The case remained unresolved for years until March, when investigators said the DNA recovered from K.S. matched a sample tied to a man accused of attacking another woman in 2025.
According to the probable cause statement, Newlander told investigators he last saw K.S. when she got out of his vehicle and headed toward McKinley Park, an area close to where her body was later found. He has denied killing or injuring her.
Newlander was charged with second-degree murder in connection with K.S.’s death. He has not been charged in connection with the two sexual assault cases. He is scheduled to appear in court again on Sept. 28.
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