Woman Killed In LA Conner

Police in the Skagit County town of La Conner have not yet established a motive for the Monday killing of a gift-store employee, believed to have been the first homicide in at least two decades in that community of 700.

The body of Donna Arrasmith, 52, of Mount Vernon, was found about 9 p.m. Monday in the Happy Valley Farms shop, one of several shops in the Pier 7 complex on the town's waterfront.

La Conner Police Chief Larry Yonally said the woman's body was found in a storage area of the shop by the building's owner-manager. It was not clear whether the store, which had closed at 5 p.m., had been robbed, Yonally said.

An autopsy yesterday showed she died of multiple stab wounds, according to Skagit County Coroner Frank Kendall.

Yonnaly said, "We haven't established a motive yet. It's too early to tell."

The killing has caused a high degree of concern in the close-knit community, particularly because there is no explanation for the killing and no suspect in custody, Yonally said.

"There are all kinds of rumors going around . . . But we're not sure if it was a random thing, a robbery, or someone she knew."

Yonally said the victim was a divorced mother of four grown children.

Detectives from the Washington State Patrol, Mount Vernon, Skagit County and the Swinomish Tribe are assisting La Conner's four-person police force in the investigation.