PORT LUDLOW — A 22-year-old man found dead on a Port Ludlow property earlier this month has been identified as Logan Slagle, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said.
Undersheriff Andy Pernsteiner said Friday that Slagle had been staying in Port Ludlow for a short time, although he had an address in New Plymouth, Idaho.
Slagle’s death was reported by family members about 10 a.m. Nov. 3 in the 2000 block of Beaver Valley Road. The investigation is still open on whether the death was a suicide or a homicide, Pernsteiner said.
The autopsy report showed a punctured lung caused by a stab wound as the likely cause of death, Pernsteiner said.
“It basically shows that there were two pretty deep stab wounds,” he said. “The rest of them appear to be pretty superficial, like they weren’t life threatening. Basically there was one to the upper left shoulder that actually punctured a lung and that was obviously, probably the one that took his life. The other one was to his stomach which would not have been threatening had he gotten medical attention within a decent time frame.”
The State Patrol Crime Lab processed Slagle’s vehicle on Nov. 6, Pernsteiner said. A knife was found in the vehicle, he said.
“It looks like he was actually stabbed inside the vehicle and he was inside the vehicle for quite a while,” Pernsteiner said. “He got out of the vehicle and was found lying next to that vehicle.”
Persteiner said investigators can’t rule out homicide until they get test results back from the vehicle.
The crime lab took swabs from different samples of blood and collected the knife, which they will search for fingerprints, Pernsteiner said.
Pernsteiner added that the lab results could take months to receive.
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Reporter Elijah Sussman can be reached by email at elijah.sussman @sequimgazette.com.
