MURDERED: Joyce LePage Part 2
In part two of Joyce’s story, we dig deep into the case file and letters left behind by Joyce herself, which reveal even more suspects, including the roommate she’d been avoiding that summer.
Joyce LePage
Courtesy: Bruce LePage
Joyce LePage
Courtesy: Bruce LePage
The exterior of Stevens Hall
Courtesy: Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections (MASC), Washington State University Libraries
The lounge area of Stevens Hall where the swath of carpet was taken
Courtesy: Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections (MASC), Washington State University Libraries
The carpet from Stevens Hall that Joyce was found wrapped in
Courtesy: Whitman County Sheriff’s Office
Where Joyce’s body was recovered in Wawawai Canyon
Courtesy: Whitman County Sheriff’s Office
Joyce’s roommate, Bruce Bierbaum
Courtesy: Whitman County Sheriff’s Office
Joyce’s best friend, Jan, with the blue vase in the left corner
Courtesy: Whitman County Sheriff’s Office
Joyce’s coat rack
Courtesy: Whitman County Sheriff’s Office
Joyce and her brother, Bruce LePage, headed to Washington State University
Courtesy: Bruce LePage
Timeline:
Joyce’s apartment makes a long-distance phone call to a number in Moses Lake, Washington.
Joyce has dinner with Mike Lindberg, Celeste Lindberg and Mark Wadleigh before the group drives to Eden Valley.
A witness reports seeing Joyce speaking with Steve Saulle at the student union before walking to the library.
Steve Saulle says Joyce visits his apartment to help with typing assignments and brings her typewriter.
Evening
Joyce, Hal Wood and Patty drive from Moscow, Idaho, for a skydiving lesson. After the lesson, they stop at a tavern in Moscow for a pitcher of beer.
About 10 p.m.
Hal and Patty drop Joyce off outside her apartment in Pullman. This is the last confirmed sighting of Joyce alive.
8:22 a.m.
A custodian reports a 5-by-5-foot section of green carpet missing from Stevens Hall and police find Joyce’s belongings inside Stevens Hall.
Joyce never arrives at her family’s home in Pasco as planned and she misses both the Water Follies and her eye doctor’s appointment.
Police interview Mark Wadleigh and Mike Lindberg after discovering Joyce’s car parked near their house.
Joyce’s father, Walter, reports her missing to campus police.
About 1:15 p.m.
Police locate Joyce’s locked 1966 Dodge Cornet parked on Opal Street.
Steve Saulle turns Joyce’s typewriter over to the police for safekeeping.
Bruce Bierbaum writes Joyce’s father requesting reimbursement for rent and utility expenses and says he has packed Joyce’s belongings.
Kaye Garrison tells investigators Joyce seemed frightened before disappearing and believed she knew dangerous information.
A teenage boy and his mother discover human remains in Wawawai Canyon and deputies recover Joyce’s body wrapped in the missing green carpet from Stevens Hall.
Bruce changes his account of when he last saw Joyce, contradicting his original statement to investigators.
Police interview Steve Saulle after he returns to WSU. He denies dating Joyce and investigators believe he passes a polygraph.
Mike Lindberg dies by suicide.
Montana veterinary regulators discipline Bruce Bierbaum following allegations involving animal medications being given to his children.
Investigators travel to Moses Lake while re-examining Mike Finch during the reopened investigation.
Stevens Hall, Pullman, WA
Where Joyce secretly stayed during summer renovations.
Joyce's Apartment, Pullman, WA
Where Hal and Patty dropped Joyce off around 10 p.m. on July 22, marking the last confirmed sighting of her alive.
Moscow, ID
Where Joyce with Hal and Patty for a skydiving lesson. Afterward, the three stopped at the Spruce Tavern for a pitcher of beer before returning to Pullman.
Opal St., Pullman, WA
Where police located Joyce’s abandoned Dodge Coronet outside a fraternity house.
Pasco, WA
Where Joyce planned to visit her family for the Water Follies and an eye doctor’s appointment, but never arrived.
Wawawai Canyon, Whitman County, WA
Where Joyce’s remains were discovered on April 16,1972, wrapped in the missing green carpet from Stevens Hall.
400 Howard St., Pullman, WA
The home of Mike and Celeste Lindberg and Mark Wadleigh.
Eden Valley, Pullman, WA
Where Joyce, Mike and Celeste Lindberg, and Mark Wadleigh drove after having dinner together days before she disappeared.
Palouse, WA
Where the meditation group stopped for a rummage sale and ice cream after visiting Eden Valley.
Steve’s Apartment, Pullman, WA
Where Steve Saulle said Joyce helped him with typing assignments.
Moses Lake, WA
The destination of an unexplained long-distance phone call from Joyce’s apartment on July 15.
Tips:
If you know anything about the murder of Joyce LePage, call the Whitman County Sheriff’s Office at (509) 397-6266.
We’d love to speak with you and see how we can support.
If you’re a law enforcement agency or family member of one of the people we mentioned in this episode, or if you’re looking for more coverage on a case, please reach out. You can email us at:
Episode Source Material
- Original reporting by Emily Mieure
- Washington State University sexual misconduct database. SOURCE: Shawn Vestal Staff writer. (September 3, 2006 Sunday). Assault cases confront tenure; WSU suit strains evolving policies. Spokesman Review (Spokane, WA). Accessed June 26, 2026.
- Court records from Board of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Labor and Industry, State of Montana
- Lewiston Tribune obituaries. Published April 10, 2007. Accessed July 1, 2026.
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