One Dead, Suspect In Custody Following Homicide Near Moses Lake

A murder investigation is underway after a man was found dead near Moses Lake.

The Grant County Sheriff’s Office responded Tuesday afternoon to a residence in rural Moses Lake where a deceased male was discovered about 12:30pm at a home in the 8900 block of Travis Drive.

Sheriff's spokesman Kyle Foreman reports the victim was been identified as 79-year-old Jerry R. Koch of Moses Lake.

Foreman says the victim’s daughter told emergency dispatchers she believed her 52-year-old brother, Joel R. Koch, was responsible.

While investigators were on scene, Joel Koch returned to the residence and was detained. Detectives observed evidence linking Koch to the crime, and he made statements to deputies that further implicated him, and he was transported to the Grant County Jail.

After detectives obtained search warrants for the victim's residence and for Koch’s person, evidence was recovered that was consistent with a violent assault.

Investigators claim home‑security video footage from a nearby residence documented Koch’s movements from Monday evening until Tuesday morning

Detectives were also notified by Grant County Mental Health Services that a mental health pickup order for Koch had been scheduled for the same day due to a recent decline in his mental health condition.

Koch has been booked into the Grant County Jail for second-degree murder and domestic violence. The case is under investigation, and there are no additional suspects. The Grant County Coroner’s Office will conduct an autopsy to determine the official cause and manner of Koch's death