Inset: Amanda Green (Thurston County Sheriff”s Office). Background: James Lewis who is accused of killing Green in Yelm, Washington (KCPQ).
Authorities in Washington state arrested a man four years after he allegedly murdered a woman, drove her body some 200 miles away, and with another man’s help buried her in a shallow grave, throwing used syringes on top of the remains to make it look like a drug overdose.
James Daniel Lewis is facing charges of second-degree murder, unlawful possession of a firearm and unlawful disposal of remains in the death of 36-year-old Amanda Elaine Green who was reported missing to Tacoma police in August 2021. In 2022, Tacoma cops informed the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office that she had been murdered in the Yelm area.
Detectives developed a person of interest but did not have enough evidence — namely a body — to make an arrest. Investigators refocused their efforts in March of this year. Last weekend, cops arrested Lewis on an unrelated warrant and interviewed him. He allegedly admitted to murdering Green at his home in Yelm. He led them to a shallow grave in Lewis County near Mt. Rainier where investigators recovered human remains believed to be Green.
Love true crime? Sign up for our newsletter, The Law&Crime Docket, to get the latest real-life crime stories delivered right to your inbox.
Cops spoke with various witnesses who were either on the property at the time of the murder or heard Lewis confessing to it. They told cops Lewis killed the woman because he feared she was trying to overtake the property that once belonged to his grandmother.
After receiving his Miranda warnings, Lewis initially blamed another man for the shooting and said he was forced to help dispose of the body, according to a probable cause arrest affidavit obtained by Law&Crime.
But pressed for the truth, Lewis apparently admitted he was the shooter and said the other man helped him move the remains. Lewis gave various reasons for killing Green from accusing her of stealing his firearms to alleging she pointed a gun at him and he shot her in self-defense to accusing her of wanting to take over the property.
“Detective Gross began to challenge Lewis on his motive for shooting Green,” cops wrote. “He told Detective Gross that when she first obtained a firearm, she forced him to take a shower. He said, ‘If you know me, I don’t like taking showers.’ He said it was humiliating. He said he wasn’t sure why she cared if he smelt bad.”
Lewis later said he was looking for “any reason” to shoot Green and that he was “too jumpy,” the affidavit said.
Cops tried to speak to the man who allegedly helped Lewis bury Green and throw the used syringes on the body but couldn’t get very far because of his mental health problems. He is not facing charges as of yet.
Detectives believe Green was killed in late May 2021 after she rented a U-Haul but never returned it.
Lewis is in the Thurston County Jail without bond. His next court date is scheduled for Tuesday.
