In the summer of 2014, a tragic sequence of events led to the death of 68-year-old Sandra E. Tiffany, a female resident of Spokane Valley. The unfortunate discovery was made on August 15, 2014, in a quiet, private family cemetery located approximately 10 miles southeast of Tensed, Idaho, in Benewah County.
Prior to this grim finding, concerns for the couple's welfare had been raised.
Their son had reported them missing after a fire, later determined to be arson, damaged their home on Bettman Road in Spokane Valley. The investigation into the fire revealed that Sandra's husband, 76-year-old John R. Tiffany, a long-time dentist in downtown Spokane, was a person of interest. Surveillance footage from a gas station captured him purchasing gasoline cans just hours before the blaze, and several gas cans were subsequently found inside the charred remains of their home.
The search for the missing couple concluded with the discovery of their bodies inside their white Kia on Wild Sky Road. According to the Benewah County coroner, Sandra Tiffany died from a single gunshot wound to the back of her head. Her death was ruled a homicide. John Tiffany was found to have died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the front of his head. Authorities ultimately concluded that the deaths were the result of a murder-suicide, with John Tiffany as the sole suspect in his wife's death. No arrests were made as the perpetrator had taken his own life.
