Ella Louise Lindsay, a 76-year-old female, was tragically killed in a triple homicide that unfolded in the quiet desert community of Salome, Arizona. In April of 2016, she and her 83-year-old husband, Lester Carl Lindsay, were visiting from their home in Wenatchee, Washington, likely enjoying a getaway at their property. The remote area, often frequented by Phoenix-area residents seeking a weekend retreat, became the scene of a grim discovery when a La Paz County Sheriff's deputy, investigating a series of burglaries, found their bodies.
The investigation into the deaths of Ella and Lester Lindsay, along with their friend, 81-year-old Alice Boyd of Bingen, Washington, quickly pointed to a violent encounter. The initial findings from the investigators suggested that the victims had suffered from gunshot wounds, among other injuries. The peaceful retreat had been shattered by what appeared to be an armed robbery, leaving a community on edge and families hundreds of miles away in Washington grappling with a devastating loss. The tranquility of the sparsely populated area was replaced by a sense of unease as the search for a suspect began with very little initial information, as there were no apparent witnesses or motive.
A significant breakthrough in the case came not from the immediate vicinity of the crime scene, but from a confrontation in Glendale, a suburb of Phoenix. A 24-year-old man from Phoenix named Kitage Lynch was arrested after an incident where he allegedly fired a gun at two police officers. Investigators discovered that Lynch was in possession of a vehicle that belonged to one of the victims, Alice Boyd. Furthermore, a handgun found at the scene of the Glendale shooting was determined to have been stolen from the Salome residence where the homicides occurred. This crucial evidence provided a strong link between Lynch and the murders.
Following the collection and analysis of biological evidence from the crime scene, the La Paz County Sheriff's Department named Kitage Lynch as the primary suspect in the triple homicide. In August 2017, a grand jury indicted him on three counts of first-degree murder, in addition to charges of burglary, theft, and other offenses. Lynch, who was already serving a 15-year prison sentence for charges related to the Glendale shooting, pleaded not guilty to the murder charges. The La Paz County Attorney's Office later announced they would not be seeking the death penalty in the case.
