Naman Shrestha
In ‘The Real Murders on Elm Street: And We Have Serial Killers,’ the primary focus is on the brutal double killings of Tanner Pehl and Sarah Clark that took place in February 2008. When the murders became public knowledge, a wave of concern took over the entire community. Not long after the homicides, the investigation led the detectives to the perpetrator, who was brought to justice. As the episode also features exclusive interviews with the victims’ loved ones, the viewers get a detailed account of the crime and its impact on them.
Tanner Pehl and Sarah Clark Were Found Dead Inside a Burning Property in 2008
The beloved son of Dave Pehl and Laurie Jennings, Tanner E. Pehl was born on January 19, 1988, in Centralia, Washington. Growing up in a loving household in Colville with his four siblings Cameron, Katie, Matt, and Poom, he relocated to Spokane to live with his mother at the age of nine. After completing his middle school education there, he went back to Colville to attend Colville High School. After a year, he returned to Spokane and completed his schooling at Mead High School. Not only was he academically gifted, but he also had a musical talent, acknowledged by his loved ones.
Specializing in playing guitar, Tanner collaborated with his father to establish a DJ business. Cooking was another one of his hobbies. Having a goofy sense of humor, he was described as a compassionate and polite soul by everyone who knew him. In order to let others know that he cared for them and loved them, he used to send little handwritten notes to them, making them feel special. One of his junior friends was Sarah Anne Clark, daughter of Steve and Teesha Clark, who welcomed her into the world on December 29, 1989. Much like Tanner, Sarah was known for the positivity she brought to any room she walked into.
One of the six siblings, including Emily Gant, Ruth, Peter, Matthew, and Aaron, Sarah could be found playing the piano in her free time or petting her dog Lucy, hamster Scarlet, and duck Harriet. She also loved spending time with her friends and family, shopping, and watching ‘Project Runway.’ Unfortunately, both young and vibrant souls, Tanner Pehl and Sarah Clark, met their demise on the same day and in the same place. In the early morning hours of February 28, 2008, when a passerby noticed smoke coming out of Tanner’s mother’s house at 512 East Elm in East Spokane and reported it, firefighters arrived at the scene only to find out that the house was also the scene of a double homicide.
As the investigators rushed to the scene and inspected the bodies of Tanner and Sarah inside the house, they learned that both had been stabbed to death multiple times. With all the picture frames taken off the walls and placed down, the killer seemed to make the scene look like a robbery gone wrong. Immediately, the police launched a murder investigation and collected all possible pieces of evidence from the crime scene. One of the critical clues that the investigators found at the murder scene was a bloody fingerprint of the possible perpetrator.
A Relatively New Acquaintance of Tanner and Sarah Stabbed Them in the Back
When the detectives dug deeper into the lives of Tanner Pehl and Sarah Clark, they first suspected the former’s girlfriend to be involved in the crime. However, when they couldn’t contact her, they interviewed his roommate, who admitted to last seeing him a couple of days before the murder. Next, they looked into Sarah’s boyfriend, Justin Crenshaw. As it turned out, he was a new friend of the victims and had recently moved to Spokane from Las Vegas to start afresh. Coincidentally, he got a job right where Tanner used to work. However, he was not aware that he had a criminal history of violence. So, thinking of him as a good friend and welcoming him with open arms, Tanner and Sarah decided to hang out with Justin after work at the former’s mother’s house on the fateful night.
Later into the night, Sarah and Justin allegedly got into a heated argument while Tanner was in the other room. The argument allegedly led to Justin stabbing her multiple times with a sword before he attacked Tanner, too. After the police matched the fingerprint of the killer found at the crime scene to that of Justin, they arrested him for the double homicide of 20-year-old Tanner and 18-year-old Sarah. In order to build a strong case against him, the police also searched for evidence at the accused’s house, where they found bloody clothes and shoes. After committing the murders, Justin reportedly tried to set the house on fire to get rid of all the evidence that could lead the authorities to him.
Justin Crenshaw is Currently Incarcerated at a Washington Prison Facility
After a couple of years of delays, in late June 2010, Justin Crenshaw finally stood on trial for his crimes. After a month of the prosecution and defense presenting a case in front of the jury, the accused became a convict as he was found guilty of first-degree premeditated murders of Tanner Pehl and Sarah Clark. In August 2010, he received two life sentences for the same. A few years later, in 2014, he was additionally charged with the attempt to kill one of his inmates at prison.
In an unexpected turn of events, Justin Crenshaw was announced eligible for resentencing in 2023. This was due to a ruling that allowed offenders who committed crimes before they were 20 years old to be resentenced. According to it, brain development is generally limited before an individual turns 20 years old. When Sarah’s parents received the news, they were highly disappointed as Teesha stated, “I just (thought) we shouldn’t have to be doing this. He was 20 years old. He was an adult.” As of now, Justin Crenshaw serves his two life terms at Washington State Penitentiary – IMU in Walla Walla, Washington, while hoping for resentencing.
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