Elko woman described as “cold lady” pleads guilty to second killing

Scott Sonner

Wednesday, June 16, 1999 | 2:15 a.m.

RENO, Nev. - An Elko woman who executed a man in the desert over a drug debt pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the unrelated shooting of a Grass Valley woman who was a longtime rival.

Described by investigators as a "very cold lady," Elizabeth Powell, 33, was convicted in March of kidnapping and murdering Curtis Moss in the desert just off U.S. Highway 95 north of Winnemucca on May 16, 1998.

Last week, she pleaded guilty in Pershing County District Court to second-degree murder the following day of Linda Westphal, 34, also known as Linda Bartholomew.

That shooting at a Grass Valley residence resulted from an ongoing feud between the two woman that stemmed from Powell's theft of a handmade knife, investigators said.

"It is unusual to have a female shooter. To have a double homicide, that is real unusual," said Marty Roberto, a criminal investigator for the Nevada Division of Investigation in Carson City.

"She is a very cold lady," he said in an interview Wednesday.

Police found Westphal's body on May 17 and arrested Powell and an accomplice, Robert Burkman, 30, the following day.

"We discovered the body of Linda first. We didn't hear about Curtis (Moss) till a couple of days later," he said.

While in jail, Burkman told investigators he had driven the car when Powell took Moss, 36, to the desert and shot him. Burkman led officers to the body.

Upset about the drug debt, Powell persuaded Moss to get into the car and ride north out of town on May 16, 1998, Burkman told police. They stopped at a natural gas pumping station along the road.

"She tells Curtis to get down on his knees and beg for his life. Curtis takes off running and she starts shooting," Roberto said.

She then walked out to where Moss went down, but he jumped up and startled her and started running again.

Powell jumped back into the car and drove backwards down the highway until she caught up with Moss, Roberto said.

"She jumped out of the car, runs through the sagebrush and through barbed-wire fence and finished him off," he said.

Two days later, Powell ended up at a Grass Valley residence where Westphal was staying with a boyfriend.

"They had a running feud," Roberto said.

Powell "talks old school - honor-among-thieves kind of talk.

"But Linda found out Liz had stolen a handmade knife and Linda used that information basically to embarrass her among her friends.

"So they didn't like each other," he said.

The two got in a shoving match and Powell eventually shot her, getting a ride from the scene with Burkman when her car wouldn't start.