Othello man booked on murder charges
CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 5 years, 2 months AGO
Senior Reporter Cheryl Schweizer is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience serving small communities in the Pacific Northwest. She began her post-high-school education at Treasure Valley Community College and enerned her journalism degree at Oregon State University. After working for multiple publications, she has settled down at the Columbia Basin Herald and has been a staple of the newsroom for more than a decade. Schweizer’s dedication to her communities and profession has earned her the nickname “The Baroness of Bylines.” She covers a variety of beats including health, business and various municipalities. | January 29, 2021 1:49 PM
RITZVILLE — An Othello man was booked into the Adams County Jail on two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of removing or concealing a body following the discovery of remains of two bodies in a car near Othello on Thursday.
Mauricio Nava-Garibay, 28, was arrested Thursday night, according to a statement of probable cause filed with Adams County Superior Court.
Adams County sheriff’s deputies were called to the scene of an abandoned vehicle at about 6:30 a.m. Thursday, according to an Adams County Sheriff’s Office. The car allegedly had blood and hair on the driver’s side, the probable cause statement said.
Deputies opened a car door and found dismembered human remains, the statement said. More human remains were found in the trunk. The victims, two women, have not been identified.
Deputies identified the car’s owner, a woman, and she was not home when officers went there.
A man at the scene was later identified as Nava-Garibay, who allegedly knew the owner of the vehicle.
According to the probable cause statement, Nava-Garibay agreed to talk with deputies. He said he got in a fight with the woman who owned the vehicle, who hit him. A few minutes later, Nava-Garibay asked the woman to enter the garage, and when she entered the car, stabbed and strangled her. Another woman came into the garage, and, Nava-Garibay said, he pushed her down and stabbed her in the neck.
According to the probable cause statement, he said he dismembered the bodies because they were too heavy to lift and drove the car to West Charla Lane, where he abandoned it.
Nava-Garibay disposed of the clothes he was wearing, and they were later recovered by sheriff’s deputies, the probable cause statement said.
ARTICLES BY CHERYL SCHWEIZER
Road closures, roundabout, mean construction season underway
EPHRATA — The grass is starting to turn green, the trees are starting to leaf out, construction crews are starting to build roundabouts – hey, it’s spring. At least one roundabout project is in its final phase, held over from fall 2025. The intersection of State Route 282 and Nat Washington Way will be closed the week of April 6 to allow crews to install permanent lights. “This really is the final (closure),” wrote Grant County Administrator Tom Gaines in a media release. “The roundabout will close at 6 a.m. Monday, and we plan to reopen by Friday, possibly sooner if the work finishes early.”
Ybarra announces run for Washington Senate
QUINCY — State Representative Alex Ybarra, R-Quincy, has announced his candidacy for the Washington Senate. If he’s elected, he would replace Judy Warnick, R-Moses Lake, who announced her retirement in March.
Othello Community Museum to open April 25
OTHELLO — With a couple of new exhibits, a new heating-cooling system, rearranged displays and a thorough cleaning, the Othello Community Museum will open for the summer April 25. The goal, said Molly Popchock, museum board secretary, is to operate for a full season.