A jury convicted a Pullman man Thursday at the Whitman County Superior Court in Colfax, for raping and murdering his estranged wife last March.
Jacob E. Spray, 37, was found guilty of the first-degree murder and first-degree rape of Jamie Wilson-Spray, 25. After being presented with over 30 witness testimonials over the course of the two-week trial, the jury deliberated for almost four hours before returning with the conviction.
On March 26, 2024, Pullman police responded to a request for a welfare check after a phone call interview between Wilson-Spray and a potential employer was cut short by a scream. Authorities discovered an unresponsive Wilson-Spray, who had suffered serious injuries.
During his closing argument, Chief Deputy Prosecutor Dan LeBeau presented text messages, phone calls, police body cam footage and cell phone tower records to build a case for Spray’s “obsession” with Wilson-Spray.
“She’s getting ready to move on with her life. He’s at work obsessing about what she was doing,” LeBeau said.
Court records showed Spray repeatedly texted and called Wilson-Spray on the day of her death. That afternoon, Wilson-Spray told her sister, “I just wish he would leave me alone,” LeBeau said.
Spray and Wilson-Spray had been married for seven years before Wilson-Spray initiated divorce early last year.
“It shows the level of obsession he had. They had separated six weeks before and he knew she wanted the divorce,” LeBeau said.
LeBeau said Spray confessed to murdering Wilson-Spray to his father on the phone that evening. His father called the police on Spray, who was initially arrested and charged with second-degree murder, according to KREM.
In the defense’s closing argument, Spray’s attorney Steve Martonick said the state had proven motivation, not intent, which is needed to convict.
“They have not proved rape, but because they haven’t proved rape, they can’t prove murder,” Martonick said.
Martonick said Wilson-Spray had been “on a path to destruction.” Additionally, there were two unidentified DNA samples present, meaning there was no forensic evidence linking Spray to the assault.
Spray’s sentencing hearing will take place on March 24 and he will face 20-30 years in prison, according to the Lewiston Tribune.
