Jury convicts Deer Park man of murder

Published 8:40 pm Tuesday, June 4, 2013

SPOKANE — A Spokane County jury has convicted a Deer Park man of torturing and then killing his ex-wife.

Tuesday’s verdict means Clay Starbuck, 48, faces a sentence of life in prison without parole.

Starbuck was convicted of killing Chanin Starbuck, 42, in December 2011 and sexually violating her remains. She was the mother of five children.

Her body was discovered in her home on Dec. 3, 2011, posed in a sexually suggestive manner.

Prosecutors contended Clay Starbuck was a jealous, greedy, angry man who took out his frustrations on his ex-wife.

Defense attorneys argued that any DNA that linked Starbuck to the scene remained from when he lived in the home.

The case went to the jury on Monday.