Daughters help crack 30-year-old cold case in Washington murder arrest

More than three decades after a Washington mother was found dead in her home, investigators have made an arrest in a cold case.

In November 1992, Janice Randle was found dead in her bed at her home in Graham, Washington, with her young daughter in the crib next to her. Her husband at the time, James Randle, told authorities she may have died of a drug overdose, citing her past use of painkillers.

The couple had separated and was in the process of divorcing. The case was initially treated as a death investigation and possible overdose. However, autopsy results later revealed that Randle had no drugs in his system, leading investigators to reclassify the case as a homicide.

Despite this change, only limited evidence was available and detectives were unable to determine probable cause for the arrest. The case remained unsolved for decades.

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The investigation was revived in recent years after family members presented new information, including alleged confessions made by James Randle. These clues gave researchers a new perspective and a new path forward.

Authorities say the renewed investigation ultimately led to probable cause for the arrest of the 68-year-old suspect, who lived at a nursing facility in Everett, Washington. He was detained on April 1.

James Randle was arrested in connection with the murder of his wife in 1992. (Pierce County Sheriff’s Office)

Investigators now believe Janice Randle died as a result of a violent struggle with her husband, and newly uncovered evidence contradicts the original 1992 account.

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The 1992 death of Janice Randle in Graham, Washington, later ruled a homicide, led to her arrest more than 30 years later. (Pierce County Sheriff’s Office)

“This case is a powerful example of how advances in technology and investigative practices can bring justice even decades later,” the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office said. he said.

“Most importantly, this is a testament to the unwavering dedication of detectives and investigators who refused to let Janice’s story be forgotten,” officials added. “Their hard work, compassion and determination provided Janice’s family with the closure they had sought for years.”

court documents Acquired by Fox 13 Seattle In the years after Janice’s death, the suspect reportedly confessed to two family members that he killed her and then claimed to have faked a drug overdose. Investigators also noted that Janice had visible bruises and signs of a struggle, but her death was initially ruled undetermined.

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Janice Randle in a family photo with her young child, taken years before her death in 1992, which remained unsolved for decades. (Fox 13 Seattle/Katie Wakin/Kourtney Lewis)

Records show the couple was in a contentious divorce and custody battle at the time, and the suspect had previous convictions for domestic violence and had made threats in the weeks leading up to his death.

Jail records show James Robert Randle was booked into the Pierce County Jail on April 1 on a charge of first-degree murder with bail set at $1 million.

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Janice Randle holds a baby in a photo taken before she died in a case that has gone unsolved for more than 30 years. (Fox 13 Seattle/Katie Wakin/Kourtney Lewis)

The rupture in the case was due in part to Randle’s daughters; One of them was just 18 months old and was lying in a crib next to his mother the night he died, helping to bring new attention to the investigation decades later.

Janice’s oldest daughter, Katie Wakin, thanked both her family and investigators for finally bringing the case to light.

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“It’s such a blessing that so many of my mom’s best friends filled in the gaps in our childhood because she was gone,” Wakin told Fox 13 Seattle. “I have had the pleasure of bonding with my siblings and we are very, very close.”

Wakin was 14 when her mother was killed and said she never expected to see an arrest.

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“I don’t want to say I’ve lost hope, but I never thought I’d see this in my lifetime,” he said. “I accepted it. I was comfortable with it until about a year ago.”

This shift came about when her younger half-sister, Kourtney Lewis, who was just 18 months old at the time of the murder, began delving into the case in 2025 while trying to learn more about her mother for her own children.

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James Randle is escorted by deputies after his arrest in the 1992 murder of his wife in Washington. (Fox 13 Seattle)

“I’ve never looked at some of the documents… the basic documents that are only seen when someone dies,” Lewis told Fox 13 Seattle. “When I looked at them, I knew. I knew exactly what it was. So I said, ‘I need to figure this out.'”

Together, the sisters gathered information and tried to find answers; these efforts ultimately helped investigators reexamine the evidence and focus on the suspect.

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For Randle’s family, the arrest marks a long-awaited step toward closure after more than 30 years.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office for comment.