Washington police arrest estranged husband in shooting death of former Cape woman

The estranged husband of a former Cape Girardeau woman who was found dead in her Bellingham, Wash., apartment July 5 was arrested Monday in connection to her death, according to a report from the Bellingham Herald.

Keayn T. Dunya allegedly admitted to burning evidence that could have linked his girlfriend, Kara J. Buchanan, to the shooting death of Kriston Anne Peterman-Dunya.

Kriston Peterman-Dunya, 32, was a Jackson High School graduate who penned a number of novels with her father, Gene Peterman. She and Keayn Dunya had a 7-year-old son together.

Whatcom County Prosecuting Attorney David McEachran told the Bellingham Herald a surveillance video appears to show Dunya carrying a gun outside of his estranged wife's apartment at the time of the murder.

Buchanan has already been arrested in connection to the shooting after she confessed to Bellingham authorities in a July 7 voice mail. She is charged with first-degree murder.

"In the message she also implied she would be dead by the time police arrived at her Whidbey Island home," Lt. Rick Sucee told the Herald.

Keayn Dunya is charged with first-degree rendering criminal assistance, but McEachran may seek additional charges of complicity to murder or first-degree murder, the newspaper reported.

Kriston Peterman-Dunya died of a single gunshot wound to the chest. The Herald reports that police found the wadding from a 20-gauge shotgun shell and the shell casing itself beside her body. Severed pieces of an off-white latex glove and 26 hydrocodone pills were also found, McEachran told the Herald.

The Dunyas were getting a divorce and the Herald reported that at Keayn's Tuesday court appearance McEachran read the text of Buchanan's voice-mail message that suggested there was a custody battle over the Dunyas' son.

The boy is in the care of Washington state Child Protective Services. Gene Peterman told the Southeast Missourian on Saturday that the family is making arrangements to have their daughter cremated and buried in Jackson.

Bellingham police and McEachran could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

ehevern@semissourian.com

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Bellingham, WA