On the evening of Friday, March 10, 2017, 18-year-old Donovan Spann of Burien was shot and killed at a house in the White Center area. Spann, a senior at New Starts alternative high school, had gone to the home with a 17-year-old friend, Liam Carter, who was house-sitting. The homeowner had left a .38 caliber revolver at the house after a recent burglary.

Authorities say the two were smoking marijuana and handling the handgun when, according to Carter’s account to detectives, they decided to play Russian roulette. Carter told investigators Spann had fired an empty chamber at him, then Carter aimed the gun at Spann, pulled the trigger, and struck him in the abdomen. Carter initially called 911 saying the gun had fallen and discharged; he later told detectives he paused life-saving efforts and staged the scene to fit his first story. Deputies and medics found Spann deceased at the home in the 10200 block of 23rd Court Southwest.

Carter was arrested and booked into the King County Youth Services Center on investigation of first-degree manslaughter; prosecutors later charged him as an adult. Spann’s family said they doubted he would have played Russian roulette, though they did not believe his friend intended to harm him. Does anyone have information about Spann’s last hours or knew the two young men?