Estranged husband arrested for murder in 1992 Pierce County cold case
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- James Robert Randle arrested April 1, 2026 in 1992 Janice Randle homicide.
- James Robert Randle charged with first-degree murder; $1M bail ordered.
- New family tips, confessions and fresh review produced probable cause.
A suspect has been arrested in connection to a 1992 death in Pierce County.
According to documents from Pierce County Superior Court, James Robert Randle has been charged with first-degree murder for allegedly killing his estranged wife, Janice Randle, on Nov. 7, 1992.
James Randle had an arraignment Thursday in Pierce County Superior Court, and commissioner Barbara McInvaille ordered a bail of $1 million.
A Facebook post from the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office, said James Randle was arrested on April 1, 2026 – 34 years after Janice Randle’s body was found at her residence in Graham.
Janice Randle was found dead on her bed, the post said, with her daughter in a nearby crib. At the time, her husband – who she was separated from – told police she probably overdosed, “since she had a past history of using painkillers.”
An autopsy revealed Janice Randle had no drugs in her system when she died, the post said.
“This information led the case to a homicide investigation, but only breadcrumbs of information could be pieced together, with nothing substantial to establish probable cause for an arrest,” the Sheriff’s Office’s post said. “The case was reviewed with a new bird’s-eye view of Janice’s cold case when family members came forward, with new information and witnessed confessions from Janice’s estranged husband.”
New information and tips led to “a thorough investigation with a new perspective,” the post said, which allowed detectives to establish probable cause and arrest James Randle, who is now 68 and was living in a care facility in Everett.
Police believe Janice Randle died during a “violent struggle” with James Randle, the post said. The couple were going through a divorce at the time of Janice’s death.
Janice Randle’s eldest daughter, Katie Wakin — who is not the daughter who was in the crib at the time of Janice Randle’s death — said the arrest was surreal for her.
“I don’t want to say I gave up hope, but I never thought I’d see this in my lifetime,” Wakin said. “I had accepted that. I was at peace with that until about a year ago.”
Wakin said she’s grateful for her mom’s best friends, who helped raise her as a child, as well as the bonds she made with her siblings. She said she had to be in regular contact with James Randle in order to see her brother and sister, despite knowing what he had done.
“He was in my life since I was 7. There’s a trauma bond there, I think, a bit of an ick feel in my chest,” Wakin said. “But also, it’s always the husband or the ex-husband. Domestic violence, we’ve made strides since ‘92 in what we know to be true, but we haven’t done enough.”
When asked what she would say to her mom if she could, she teared up.
“That we’re OK,” she answered. “That we’re OK.”
This story was originally published April 2, 2026 at 4:50 PM.
