Oregon woman found dead near Ridgefield was homicide victim

The Oregon woman whose body was found at an abandoned property in Ridgefield died from blunt head and neck injuries, the Clark County Medical Examiner’s Office said Wednesday.

The Medical Examiner’s Office previously identified the woman as Joanna Speaks, 32. Her death was ruled a homicide, meaning it resulted from another person’s deliberate action. The rulings do not make any judgments about criminal culpability.

Her body was found April 8 near an abandoned barn at 8004 S. Fifth St. on the east side of Ridgefield. The Clark County Sheriff’s Office said there is evidence her body had been moved to that location.

The Ridgefield Police Department and Clark-Cowlitz Fire Rescue responded about 6 p.m. to the area for a report of a dead person. Ridgefield police requested the sheriff’s office’s Major Crimes Unit, along with Vancouver police’s Major Crimes Unit, also respond, the sheriff’s office said.

The agency said it is not releasing any further details about the condition of Speaks’ body.

Anyone with information about people or vehicles near the Ridgefield property in the last few weeks is asked to contact the sheriff’s office. Detectives are also looking for information about who Speaks had been spending time with or where she had been staying prior to her death.

Contact the sheriff’s office’s Major Crimes Unit tip line at 564-397-2847.