Authorities Believe Boyfriend, Not Hitchhiker to Blame for Yakima Murder

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Story Published: Feb 9, 2010 at 12:23 AM PDT

By Stacy Lilienthal

YAKIMA -- The case has been fishy from the beginning. And the Yakima Sheriff's Office feels it has solved it with the discovery of a murder weapon.

Interstate 82 just West of Yakima was where 40 year old, Sheryl Huntley was murdered last July. The story then by her boyfriend was that a hitchhiker attacked them on the interstate. Stephen Harwood stood by that story for more than 6 months.

"I don't think I will ever get over the sadness of Sheryl's death," her best friend, Cathy Johnson told Action News.

Sheryl worked with Johnson at Albertsons while she and her two boys lived in Yakima.

"She just loved people and she loved life. She loved to laugh," Johnson said.

But soon after she was killed, clues emerged. About a week later, police were investigating a suicide near the Huntley shooting. A pistol was found.

"The caliber of the weapon was the same as the caliber of the weapon that had been used in the homicide. The handgun when it was recovered didn't appear to have been there very long. Through further interviews we found that Harwood owned a gun similar to that" Stewart Graham, with the Yakima Sheriff's Department explained.

Harwood was arrested Monday in Butte, Montana. Y.S.O. is working to extradite him back to Yakima County for prosecution.

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