Walla Walla homicide victim identified, suspect formally charged

WALLA WALLA – The Walla Walla Police Department has identified the victim of Friday’s homicide at the Whitman Court Apartments, 305 Ash St., as Phillip Moore, 73, of Walla Walla.

WWPD said Tuesday that the motive remains unknown, but investigators believe the crime was random, isolated, and that Eric Phillip Sarmiento, 38, of Ephrata acted alone.

At 1:22 a.m. Friday, officers responded to reports of a man bleeding heavily with a knife in his back. When officers arrived, he was found in an apartment hallway. Medical personnel declared Moore was deceased at the scene. Two blood-stained knives were recovered.

Witnesses saw Sarmiento leave the building before officers arrived. He was later found nearby with blood on his hands and was taken for questioning. Security cameras showed him interacting peacefully with Moore outside before following him inside. Moore’s apartment was found ransacked, suggesting items were stolen.

On Tuesday afternoon, Sarmiento made his first court appearance before Walla Walla County Superior Court Judge Patricia Fulton, who stated formal charges of first-degree murder and first-degree robbery with a deadly weapon had been filed just prior to Tuesday’s hearing.

Fulton granted the state’s request that Sarmiento be held without bail. His arraignment is scheduled for tomorrow (Thursday) at 9 a.m.

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Elkhorn Media Group