Former assessor's office employee murdered

SPOKANE — A former Whitman County Assessor’s Office employee was murdered allegedly by her husband in a faked suicide.

Shannon Ayers, 58, was shot in the head and died on Jan. 19 in Spokane.

Her husband, Dean Ayers, 55, of Spokane, called 9-1-1 around 11 p.m. to report his wife committed suicide with his pistol that he kept under his pillow on their bed.

Spokane deputies arrived to find her still alive despite a gunshot wound and a 9 mm pistol in her right hand, according to investigators.

She was shot on the left side of her head from 8-12 inches away, and the bullet exited her right side, ac...