Thurston County Man Arrested in 2021 Cold Case Murder of Amanda Green
THURSTON COUNTY, Wash. — Authorities have arrested James Daniel Lewis in connection with the 2021 disappearance and suspected murder of Amanda Green, an indigenous woman reported missing from Tacoma.
Lewis was booked into Thurston County Jail on charges including second-degree murder, unlawful possession of a firearm, and unlawful disposal of human remains, the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office confirmed.
Green was last seen near East 35th Street and Portland Avenue in Tacoma on June 2, 2021. At the time, she had announced she was pregnant.
In 2022, Tacoma Police passed information to Thurston County suggesting Green was murdered near Yelm. However, insufficient evidence initially stalled the case until new detectives reexamined it in 2025.
In March 2025, a witness reported seeing Lewis and Green argue, followed by a gunshot. The witness described seeing Green’s body with a head wound and blood. Another witness said Lewis admitted to shooting Green in the back of the head after a dispute over property.
Court documents also state Lewis and an accomplice tried to disguise the murder by placing old syringes on Green’s body to suggest an overdose.
Lewis led investigators to Green’s remains buried in a shallow grave in Lewis County. Positive identification is pending, but officials are confident the remains belong to Green.
Prosecutors noted Lewis’s prior criminal history, including child rape, assault, and unlawful firearm possession. A judge denied bail, and Lewis remains in Thurston County Jail without bail.
Thurston County Sheriff Derek Sanders said, “Helping bring closure to her family, that’s what this does.”
