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Police find vehicle suspected in deadly Aloha hit-and-run

04:40 PM PST on Friday, January 11, 2008

By TERESA BLACKMAN and FRANK MUNGEAM, kgw.com Staff

Police believe they have found the vehicle that struck a woman who was later found dead in an Aloha neighborhood Thursday morning.

Police said a tip from a citizen brought them the break in the case.

"The owner of the vehicle is cooperating with investigators," said Sgt. David Thompson with the Washington County Sheriff's Office. "At this time, the investigation is continuing and detectives are not releasing the owner's name. No arrests have been made at this time."

LiveJournal

Rebecca Marie Murphy, 24, of Aloha was found dead in a deep ditch alongside 198th Avenue after a motorist driving by noticed a pink tennis shoe in the roadway and stopped to investigate.

Investigators said it appeared that the body had been there since around 6 p.m. Wednesday, when Murphy usually walks home from school.

Murphy lived just a few blocks from the crash scene. Police believe she was walking home from a Beaverton beauty school where she attended classes when she was struck by a vehicle near the intersection of SW 198th and Butternut Avenues.

Watch the KGW report

It wasn't until 6 a.m. Thursday that a driver pulled over after spotting the shoe. Several other drivers admitted they too, had spotted the shoe, but didn't stop.

"I'm sorry that I didn't come back to look for her that night," said Mehtiba McAlister, "and that I hoped she already passed away by the time I drove by because I just couldn't live with myself thinking she was still suffering when I drove by and that I didn't go and look for her."

Anyone with information that may help in the case was asked to call the Washington County Sheriff's Office.

"More information regarding the series of events that led to Mrs. Murphy's death will be disclosed when it is appropriate for the investigation," Thompson added.