40th Tacoma Homicide of 2022: Michael Perdue

On the evening of November 21, 2022, a 25-year-old man entered a tent in homeless encampment in the 1200 block of Puyallup Avenue. Inside the tent was 39-year-old Michael Purdue, his girlfriend, and another friend. The 25-year-old man felt that Michael owed him some Oxycodone. When it was clear Michael did not have it, the man became violent, kicking Michael’s friend in the stomach repeatedly. The man then demanded that Michael pay him $2,500 in 72 hours. According to witnesses, directly after saying that, the man shot Michael in the chest, then left the tent and got into a Volvo driven by his girlfriend.

First responders arrived on the scene but pronounced Michael dead within fifteen minutes of arriving.

Michael is the 40^th Tacoma homicide of 2022 and the third homicide to occur in Tacoma on November 21, 2022.

The man who shot Michael Purdue and that man’s girlfriend were found squatting in an abandoned building in Spokane. A search of their vehicle came up with ammunition that matched the shell casing found in the tent. Michael’s murderer was sentenced to 20 years in prison. His girlfriend took a plea deal and was sentenced to 14 months.

I cannot tell you more about Michael’s life as I could not find much of anything about him online. This is common when it comes to homeless individuals. Maintaining an online presence isn’t important when you’re simply trying to survive.

Still, after almost twenty years of writing about Tacoma homicides, I know that Michael Perdue is missed by his family and loved ones. No one dies un-mourned.

If you knew Michael Perdue and would like to share, thoughts, memories, or photos of him, please click the comment button below. When there is little information about the victim, we rely on those of you who knew them to tell us more about who they were.

-          Jack Cameron

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