In the quiet community of Lacey, Washington, the life of 34-year-old Caucasian male, Chris Knoblock, was tragically cut short in a violent encounter that has left a lingering mystery. On the evening of Sunday, December 10, 2017, gunshots echoed in a parking lot off of Martin Way East and Hensley Street Northeast, an area in unincorporated Thurston County. It was here that Knoblock was shot, sustaining a fatal wound. In the immediate aftermath, a friend rushed him to Providence St.
Peter Hospital in nearby Olympia. Despite medical efforts, Chris Knoblock succumbed to his injuries two days later, on Tuesday, December 12, 2017.
The investigation into the shooting was initially undertaken by the Lacey Police Department, but was soon handed over to the Thurston County Sheriff's Office. From the outset, investigators believed the shooting may have been connected to drugs. In the early stages of the inquiry, a person of interest was arrested on suspicion of being a felon in possession of a handgun, though this arrest was not directly linked to the homicide itself. The case grew more complex as information surfaced from a federal court document related to a separate case. This document revealed that Christopher Knoblock was killed during an attempted drug-related robbery. It further stated that two other individuals were present during the fatal incident, one of whom was identified as Chris Knoblock's father, Frank Knoblock.
Despite this significant lead, the investigation into Chris Knoblock's death appears to have stalled. There have been no public announcements of any arrests or charges filed specifically for his murder. The circumstances surrounding the "attempted drug-rip" and the exact roles of the other individuals present that night remain unclear to the public. The case is now considered a cold case, one of the unsolved homicides in Thurston County from 2017. The Thurston County Sheriff's Office has since established a cold case unit to revisit unsolved crimes, offering a glimmer of hope that new information may one day bring clarity and justice for the death of Chris Knoblock.
