A 24-year-old Pullman man is facing first-degree murder charges in Whitman County for the death of his father, a Sammamish business owner of more than 20 years.
Erik C. Luden had called 911 claiming his father came at him with a knife.
“I responded,” he told the dispatcher. “I hit him with a pot in the head, a kitchen pot.”
Pullman police found his 58-year-old father, Virgil “Cliff” Luden, shortly before 5 p.m. Saturday in his son’s apartment near Washington State University.
Police arrested Erik Luden, who remained silent and requested an attorney at the scene. He is currently being held at Whitman County Jail on a $500,000 bond, awaiting his arraignment in the Whitman County Superior Court Friday at 10 a.m.
Police had found the steel pot and butter knife nearby the elder Luden’s body; both implements had blood on them. Luden suffered from blunt force trauma to the head and neck and was pronounced dead at the scene. The autopsy confirmed the cause of death Monday.
The Washington State Patrol Crime Scene Response Team assisted in processing the apartment.
Despite the 911 call, authorities are not convinced Erik Luden acted in self defense.
“Evidence at the scene does not support that,” police Cmdr. Chris Tennant said Tuesday.
Erik Luden was taken to the hospital and treated for a broken right wrist, as well as several “self-inflicted” cuts to his forearm, according to court documents.
Luden had been living in the apartment at 960 NE C St. in the College Hill neighborhood, but is not currently enrolled or employed by WSU.
Officers had interviewed a neighbor who said Erik Luden had knocked on her door around 4 p.m. to see if she wanted any of his cutlery because Luden was moving out of the apartment, court documents say. She declined.
Around 4:30 p.m. she said she heard a “single loud ‘thump’, like a hammer on the floor,” documents say. She did not report hearing any arguing, and that she was unaware anyone was in the apartment with Luden. She told police that the walls are thin, as she’s been able to hear when the faucet is running.
The son’s motive is still unclear.
“I don’t anticipate that to be a quick answer,” Tennant said.
Virgil Luden, who went by “Cliff,” had been a mortgage broker for more than 25 years. He established his business, Sage Home Loans, in Issaquah and Sammamish in 2000.
“Cliff was a very good businessman,” Sammamish Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Deb Sogge said. “He will be greatly missed.”
She knew him primarily as an ethical business owner. She said he had started planning for retirement.
He lived in the Trossachs neighborhood in Sammamish with his wife, Shannon. They were married nearly 30 years and also had a 21-year-old daughter, Haley, the Seattle Times reported.
