Human remains found, ID’d

A Spokane woman has been arrested for allegedly shooting her son, decapitating him and dumping his body in Whitman County.

Christine Catelli, 58, was booked into the Spokane County Jail on Sunday after confessing to shooting and killing her 35-year-old son, decapitating him and dumping his body near Rock Lake in St. John in northern Whitman County, according to a Spokesman-Review article. She was charged with suspicion of second-degree murder for allegedly killing her son, who was identified Thursday morning as Chase Catelli.

Brett Myers, Whitman County sheriff, said his agency assisted Spokane County deputies, the main investigating agency, in locating the human remains. He added the alleged murder and dumping took place in the summer. Annie Pillers, Whitman County coroner, confirmed Chase Catelli was found Sunday and his name was released to the public Thursday. Catelli’s cause of death was multiple gunshots and was ruled a homicide, according to a news release distributed Thursday by Pillers.

Spokane County deputies responded to a call Saturday night after Christine Catelli’s brother said his sister confessed to shooting her son last June, according to the Spokesman-Review article. Deputies approached Christine Catelli at the Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center parking lot in Spokane. Her brother told police she was struggling with substance abuse and was under a lot of stress.

The brother took Christine Catelli to the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office, where deputies said she confessed to the murder, according to the article. The shooting occurred on the 1400 block of West Jennings Road near Spangle, Wash. Catelli told deputies she shot her son five to six times in the chest, but did not indicate why she allegedly killed her son.

Christine Catelli told deputies she cut off her son’s head with a saw before wrapping it in a plastic bag, according to the article. She allegedly dumped her son’s remains in a bush on Gene Webb Road near Rock Lake and told deputies she threw the head into the trees along the south bank of the creek.

Deputies and Christine Catelli went to the location, where she directed investigators to a small, concrete bridge that ran next to the road over Kamiache Creek. Authorities found a large, black plastic bag containing Chase Catelli’s remains where Christine Catelli advised, according to the article.

The Spokane County Sheriff’s Office is still investigating. Christine Catelli made her first appearance in the Spokane County District Court on Tuesday.

Pearce can be reached at epearce@dnews.com or on Twitter @Emily_A_Pearce.