SPOKANE, Wash. — The suspect in a 40-year-old cold case died in the Spokane County Jail, according to the Spokane Police Department (SPD).
Tracy Pruitt was awaiting trial in jail when he died on the morning of May 19, 2023. Pruitt was accused of killing Spokane businessman Archie Rutherford at his South Hill home in 1982. As a result of his death, however, prosecutors are requesting the murder charge against him be dropped.
According to the Spokane County Medical Examiner's Office, Pruitt's cause of death was "bilateral pulmonary thromboembolism," or a blood clot in his leg. His manner of death has been ruled natural.
Pruitt was accused of killing Spokane businessman Archie Rutherford at his South Hill home in 1982. Court documents described Archie's murder as "very gruesome and violent." His wife discovered his body after she returned home from a trip.
An autopsy determined Archie suffered multiple injuries including a stab wound to his neck.
For 40 years, investigators didn't have any strong leads to a murder suspect. That's until they ran a DNA test in 2022. A match report confirmed the blood found in the kitchen at the crime scene was the suspect's DNA. Court documents also say one set of fingerprints found on the victim's stolen Honda matched the suspect's.
Police arrested Pruitt in Los Angeles in November 2022. He was extradited from California and booked into Spokane County Jail Thursday night. He is charged with aggravated murder and murder in the first degree.
Pruitt previously served a 27-year prison sentence for rape and robbery charges in Ohio. He was living in L.A. at the time of his arrest in November.
At the time of his death, Pruitt was facing a first-degree aggravated murder charge. However, his death means Rutherford's murder case is closed as Pruitt was the only suspect, according to SPD.
DOWNLOAD THE KREM SMARTPHONE APP
DOWNLOAD FOR IPHONE HERE | DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID HERE
HOW TO ADD THE KREM+ APP TO YOUR STREAMING DEVICE
ROKU: add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching for KREM in the Channel Store.
Fire TV: search for "KREM" to find the free app to add to your account. Another option for Fire TV is to have the app delivered directly to your Fire TV through Amazon.
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email webspokane@krem.com.