Flames destroyed a converted garage  in Graham this morning.

Graham Fire & Rescue crews were called to the structure in the 16300 block of 70th Avenue East just after 9:15 a.m. The detached garage, which had been converted into a living space, was fulled engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived, Graham Fire & Rescue Assistant Chief Tom Mason said.

Mason said crews kept the blaze from spreading to the nearby house. Neighbors got three dogs that were in a kennel attached to the converted garage away from the burning building.

The occupants were not in the converted garage at the …

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A man charged with fatally shooting his roommate and violating her remains before burying her body in a wooded area of Graham was convicted today.

Kelly Merz, 51, of Puyallup was found guilty of first-degree murder and sexually violating human remains in connection with the Sept. 11, 2011 death of 33-year-old Cori Lewis. He faces 25 years to life in prison when he is sentenced April 20.

Lewis and a friend were renting a room in Merz’s apartment when he gave her an eviction notice. During an argument about the eviction, Merz tried unsuccessfully to break her neck and then …

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Chuck Cox, father of Susan Cox Powell and grandfather of Charlie and Braden Powell, spoke with reporters at his home today. Cox said he was worried what might happen if the boys had been living with their father Josh Powell full time.

Chuck and Judy Cox had been caring for the boys since September, and their father – by court order – received supervised visits with the children.

“The act he did was a cowardly act, a desperate act,” Chuck Cox said. “We had no idea (it was) going to end this way for those boys.”

He said Powell didn’t …

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Three bodies were recovered this evening from the Graham-area home where Josh Powell was living and where he was to have a supervised visit with his children today. The home exploded just after noon today. The three killed are believed to be Powell and his 5- and 7-year-old sons.

Powell is a person of interest in the 2009 disappearance of his wife, Susan Cox Powell.

Sheriff’s deputies, fire crews and medical aid responded just after noon today to Powell’s home in the 8100 block of 189th Street Court East near Graham. The first call to 911 about the …

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UPDATE as of 12:45 a.m.:

The shelter at Evergreen Presbyterian Church is closing now that power has returned to East Pierce County.

ORIGINAL POST:

As temperatures drop into the 20s and thousands in Pierce County continue to be affected by widespread power outages, a new emergency shelter has opened in Graham.

People and their pets are welcome at Evergreen Presbyterian Church, 10118 249th St. E.

Call the Pierce County Emergency Operations Center to request transportation at 253-798-7470.

A 33-year-old Puyallup woman whose body was found Monday in a shallow grave in Graham has been identified as Cori L. Lewis.

The woman’s roommate, Kelly E. Merz, allegedly led Pierce County sheriff’s detectives to Lewis’ body in a wooded area in the 22700 block of 86^th Ave. East.

Merz was charged …

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UPDATED at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday

Pierce County sheriff’s detectives arrested a Puyallup man on suspicion of homicide Monday night after finding his roommate’s body buried in a shallow grave in a wooded area of Graham.

The investigation began Monday morning after somebody tipped detectives to the possibility of a homicide.

“Through investigation we located multiple crime scenes and eventually ended up at a grave,” sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer said.

The victim, a 31-year-old woman from the Puyallup/Bonney Lake area, has not been identified as of Tuesday morning. An autopsy was scheduled for today, the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office reported. …

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UPDATE: Firefighters have contained the brush fire that burned about an acre near Graham this afternoon but are still mopping up in the area.

INITIAL POST: Central Pierce Fire & Rescue firefighters are battling a brush fire south of Emerald Ridge High School near Graham.

Assistant Fire Chief Randy Stephens said the size of the fire is unknown but “it was burning pretty good.”

The blaze is now 60-65 percent contained.

It started about 4 p.m. A cause has not been determined.