Mrs. Doss was found beaten and strangled to death at about 10:45 p.m. on January 30, 1986. Thanks to advances in DNA technology, her killer — a 59-year-old former Pasco, Washington, police officer — was finally brought to justice nearly four decades later. He was found guilty on December 26, 2023, and was sentenced on March 4, 2024, to 25 years in prison.
MRS. RUBY JEAN DOSS, 27, of Spokane, Wash., formerly of Memphis, wife of Lewis Donald Doss, died Thursday at her home after an illness. M.J. Edwards & Sons Funeral Home has charge. Mrs. Doss was a member of Easthaven Church of Christ. She also leaves four daughters, LaToya Doss, LaTasha Doss, LaQuisa Doss, and LaShunda Doss; her mother, Mandy Stevens of Detroit; her father, Will Stevens of Memphis; two sisters, Mrs. Earnestine Bohannon and Mrs. Diane Stewart, both of Memphis; four brothers, Will Stevens Jr. and Charles Stevens, both of Memphis, Robert L. Stevens of Detroit, and Ernest Stevens of Chicago, and her grandmother, Mrs. Surfronia Stevens of Memphis.
—From The Commercial Appeal; Sunday, February 2 and Monday, February 3, 1986
Police investigate finding of body
A passerby discovered a woman's body Thursday night near the corner of Fiske and Ferry, two blocks east of Playfair Race Course.
Police identified the woman as Ruby Jean Doss, also known as Theresa Cox. Her address was given as E3118 Ferry, near where her body was found.
The police report indicates she apparently was killed by a blow to the head, probably from a blunt, clublike instrument. An autopsy was scheduled.
—From the Spokane Chronicle; Friday, January 31, 1986
Mrs. Doss was found beaten and strangled to death at about 10:45 p.m. on January 30, 1986. Thanks to advances in DNA technology, her killer — a 59-year-old former Pasco, Washington, police officer — was finally brought to justice nearly four decades later. He was found guilty on December 26, 2023, and was sentenced on March 4, 2024, to 25 years in prison.
MRS. RUBY JEAN DOSS, 27, of Spokane, Wash., formerly of Memphis, wife of Lewis Donald Doss, died Thursday at her home after an illness. M.J. Edwards & Sons Funeral Home has charge. Mrs. Doss was a member of Easthaven Church of Christ. She also leaves four daughters, LaToya Doss, LaTasha Doss, LaQuisa Doss, and LaShunda Doss; her mother, Mandy Stevens of Detroit; her father, Will Stevens of Memphis; two sisters, Mrs. Earnestine Bohannon and Mrs. Diane Stewart, both of Memphis; four brothers, Will Stevens Jr. and Charles Stevens, both of Memphis, Robert L. Stevens of Detroit, and Ernest Stevens of Chicago, and her grandmother, Mrs. Surfronia Stevens of Memphis.
—From The Commercial Appeal; Sunday, February 2 and Monday, February 3, 1986
Police investigate finding of body
A passerby discovered a woman's body Thursday night near the corner of Fiske and Ferry, two blocks east of Playfair Race Course.
Police identified the woman as Ruby Jean Doss, also known as Theresa Cox. Her address was given as E3118 Ferry, near where her body was found.
The police report indicates she apparently was killed by a blow to the head, probably from a blunt, clublike instrument. An autopsy was scheduled.
—From the Spokane Chronicle; Friday, January 31, 1986
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