Kennewick, WA
A 76-year-old Tri-Cities bass player has been identified as the man found dead inside his Kennewick home Tuesday afternoon.
Clayton Wick was found by his housekeeper in his house at 440 S. Buchanan St. about 2:15 p.m., Kennewick police said.
The circumstances inside the home lead police to believe Wick was killed.
Police worked well into the night investigating. The Washington State Patrol crime lab was called in to collect evidence, and they were still at the home Wednesday morning.
Investigators say they have not been able to reach any of Wick’s family members.
Wick, who played bass for the Mid-Columbia Symphony and the Walla Walla Symphony, was scheduled to perform Tuesday night in Walla Walla. Colleagues and friends grew concerned when he missed rehearsals.
It’s unclear how long he had not been heard from.
He was described as a kind and gentle man.
Public records show Wick had lived in the home for decades, and operated the Washington East Opera company in Richland until recently.
He’d also played bass in performances of the Richland Light Opera Company, according to past Herald stories.
His Facebook page showed he’d also been in the pit orchestra at the Leavenworth Summer Theater and played with the Washington Idaho Symphony.
Wick posted on his page that he attended high school in Duluth, Minn., and studied chemistry at the University of Minnesota in Duluth.
In the Tri-Cities, he previously worked as an engineer, instructor, administrator and manager for Westinghouse/Fluor at the Hanford site, according to his Facebook posts.
String of homicides
Police Chief Chris Guerrero told the Kennewick City Council on Tuesday evening that the incident appeared to be isolated to that home and unconnected to recent homicides.
The suspected homicide followed four homicides under investigation in the Kennewick area in the last 10 days of April:
▪ Ezekiel Sanchez, 25, died after being dropped off at the Kadlec Emergency Department in Kennewick April 20 with a gunshot to the head.
Ramon Candido 27, pleaded innocent April 29 to second-degree murder for killing Sanchez in a gang-related shootout between two cars in downtown Kennewick.
The woman accused of driving the car during the shooting, Beatriz Terrazas, 23, is charged with witnessing a crime and not reporting it — a gross misdemeanor. She also pleaded innocent.
▪ Hector Munguia, 18, is accused of stabbing and killing his 70-year-old neighbor, Zale Underwood, on April 22.
Underwood was mowing his lawn on the 1100 block of Gum Street when Munguia approached him.
Munguia told detectives that he knew it was wrong to kill Underwood but did not care. He has been charged with first-degree murder.
▪ Brian L. Wilcox, 68, is suspected of shooting and killing his wife, Kathy Wilcox, in the kitchen of their mobile home at 1405 S. Elm St. on April 25.
The house was then set on fire.
Police said on Monday, May 2, that Wilcox was found and arrested in Oklahoma.
▪ A former Kamiakin High School football player was shot the evening of April 28 at a home on the 2100 block of Rhode Island Court, a few blocks north of the intersection of Steptoe Street and Gage Boulevard.
Police arrived to find Ricardo Rivera, 17, bleeding. He later died at a hospital.
Several men were seen running from the mobile home park, but no suspect has been arrested.
This story was originally published May 04, 2022 11:09 AM.