Man convicted in 1992 Spokane Valley murder

SPOKANE — A Spokane judge has convicted a man of murdering a furniture store owner 20 years ago in a case that went unsolved until DNA from a fake beard led to an arrest.

Superior Court Judge Tari Eitzen convicted Patrick Kevin Gibson on Wednesday of first-degree murder in the Nov. 7, 1992, shooting death of Brian Cole.

The now-60-year-old Gibson was arrested last year in Western Washington after investigators found his DNA on a piece of fake beard left behind at the crime scene.

Prosecutors said Gibson killed Cole during a robbery at Cole’s store.

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