Double homicide at Yocum Lake

NEWPORT — Two people reportedly killed each other during an armed confrontation at an alcohol-fueled gathering south of Ione, according to the Pend Oreille County Sheriff’s Office.

Sheriff’s officials identified the victims as Steven Quinn Divine, 22, and Richard R. Hill, 18, both of Spokane.

Divine apparently suffered a fatal stab wound and Hill apparently died of a gunshot wound. Official causes of death are pending autopsies.

There are no other suspects in the incident and authorities do not believe it was a murder-suicide, according to published media accounts.

Sheriff’s deputies were summoned to a campground at Yocum Lake after receiving reports of a stabbing and shots being fired shortly before 12:30 a.m. The campground is located about 10 miles south of Ione.

Sheriff Alan Botzheim told Spokane television station KXLY that there were two groups camping at the lake. There were nearly a dozen campers who ranged in age from 18 to 24 and authorities said alcohol was being consumed.

Somebody struck Divine’s vehicle, touching off an altercation in which Hill armed himself with a knife and Divine armed himself with a gun. Divine ended up with a stab wound to the abdomen and Hill was shot in the chest, KXLY reported.

Botzheim told The Spokesman-Review that Hill was not the person who struck Divine’s 1986 Honda Civic.

Hill’s friends attempted to drive him to a hospital, but the car he was in crashed north of Usk and he was found dead inside, the newspaper reported. Friends took Divine to a fire station, where he was pronounced dead.

Botzheim told KXLY that it was still unclear Monday who drew first blood or how self-defense may have factored into the clash. The two victims were apparently acquainted with one another.

Botzheim told the Spokesman he believed both men would be alive if alcohol hadn’t been involved.

“It’s just so senseless,” Botzheim told the paper. “Someone backed into an ‘86 Honda and someone cared? It’s a car.”

Botzheim said in a news release his office, with the assistance of the Washington State Patrol and U.S. Border Patrol, is continuing its investigation into the incident.