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Washington Man Charged With 1992 Wife’s Killing After Alleged Family Confessions

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Prosecutors in Washington State have charged 68-year-old James Robert Randle with first-degree murder in the 1992 death of his estranged wife, Janice Randle, after relatives came forward decades later with accounts that he admitted killing her. Janice was found dead in her bed in November 1992 in Pierce County with her toddler daughter in a nearby crib, and the death was initially investigated as a possible overdose until autopsy results found no drugs in her system. According to the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office and court statements reported by CBS affiliate KIRO, family members told investigators that Randle confessed over the years, including describing staging the crime scene and saying he put a pillow over Janice’s head, which helped detectives re-evaluate the case and contradict his original account. Deputies arrested Randle at a retirement facility in Everett, Washington, and body-camera footage shows him asking, “What’s this about?” as he is handcuffed; he has pleaded not guilty and is being held on $1 million bail. The sheriff’s office is touting the case as an example of how new tips, improved investigative methods and persistence can revive cold homicide files, while Janice’s children say they long suspected Randle and are now pushing to see the case through in court.

Cold Case Homicides Washington State Crime

📌 Key Facts

Janice Randle was found dead in her Pierce County, Washington home in November 1992, initially suspected of overdosing.
Her husband, James Robert Randle, is now charged with first-degree murder after relatives reported multiple confessions, including that he smothered her with a pillow and staged the scene.
Randle was arrested at a retirement facility in Everett, Washington, has pleaded not guilty, and is being held on $1 million bail.

📊 Relevant Data

In the United States, about 1 in 5 homicide victims are killed by an intimate partner.

About Intimate Partner Violence — CDC

Intimate partner violence accounts for up to one half of all homicides of women in the U.S.

Inequities in Intimate Partner Homicide: Social Determinants of ... — PMC

Black women in the U.S. are murdered six times more often than White women, with rates of 11.6 per 100,000 for Black women compared to 1.9 per 100,000 for White women in 2020.

The Killing of Black Women in America: A Public Health Crisis — UNM Health Sciences News

The rate at which murders are solved in the U.S. has dropped to slightly below 50% in 2020, marking a historic low.

U.S. unsolved murder rates are at a record high — NPR

Over 352,390 cases of homicide and non-negligent manslaughter went unsolved from 1965 to 2024 in the U.S.

Cold Case Homicide Stats — Project Cold Case