West Seattle, Washington
23 Tuesday
With the Sunday night attack/robbery – and then last night’s chase/crash – Becky says her neighborhood wants to reach out to join forces with those nearby:
The Block Watch community of 18th Ave SW & Trenton … met to discuss the events of (Monday) night concerning a young woman being assaulted in our alley. This act of random violence is not only scary, but completely inconsistent with who we are as a community. We are families, friends and neighbors who want the simple peace of feeling safe on our street and in our homes. We want to be able to feel safe with our children playing outside. And we want to be empowered, as a community, to address this horrible event that has shattered that perspective for us.
We realize that the best way to heal the neighborhood impacted by such random violence is to work with our sister neighborhood Block Watches (or neighbors- we are not exclusive!). We have discussed some idea of how we can watch out for each other and be more vigilant. We tossed around ideas like offering to walk our neighbors home if they work the late shift in pairs. And we want to coordinate with the other neighborhoods and get some more ideas on how to prevent this from happening in our community. So if folks are interested in working with the Block Watch of 18th Ave SW & Trenton, please contact the SW Precinct for details on getting a hold of us. We have been coordinating with the Community Police Officer and appreciate the efforts of SPD to address this incident.
Along with publishing her message here, we also suggested that Becky reach out to the West Seattle Blockwatch Captains’ Network (which isn’t just for BW captains), which has been working to connect neighborhoods for crime prevention and safety. Their next meeting, by the way – open to all – is next Tuesday, April 24th, 6:30 pm at the Southwest Precinct, with “crime prevention through environmental design” the scheduled topic – helpful hints that you can use to reduce the chances your home will be targeted.
First update from tonight’s West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting: Southwest Precinct Operations Lt. Pierre Davis had wrapped up his crime-trends update without mentioning last month’s Beach Drive murder, but during open Q/A afterward, he was finally asked about the case. Still an active investigation, he said, adding that detectives are following up “specific leads,” though he had no details to share. Five weeks have now passed since 51-year-old Greggette Guy of Kent was found dead in the water south of Cormorant Cove Park, a half-mile south of where she had apparently left her car the night before to go for a waterfront walk; we checked with key figures in the case at the one=month mark (here’s our April 11th story). The case was a major reason acting Parks Superintendent Christopher Williams spoke to the group tonight; nothing revelatory in his remarks, but toplines and video are coming up in our full meeting report.
(Photo courtesy Doug, scene at Henderson)
6:07 PM: We’re at the scene of a crash in Highland Park at 15th and Henderson that is reported to have involved a police pursuit, apparently northbound from the White Center area, as King County Sheriff’s Office units are reported to be involved. More shortly.
(Scene at Trenton, where stolen car was found – this photo and next one by WSB’s Patrick Sand)
6:12 PM: Our crew at the scene has been told so far that a stolen car was being pursued and collided with the KCSO unit; the stolen car continued another block or so north to SW Trenton and was abandoned. Seattle Police are at that scene and have talked to a “person of interest” who is reported to have admitted being in the stolen car; officers are still looking for the driver and possibly one other person. We’re not sure yet about injuries.
6:39 PM UPDATE: Just past the damaged KCSO car, there’s a truck up on a lawn in the area but KCSO at the scene won’t comment on how it got there. SW Henderson is still blocked at the scene and according to Metro, that’s diverting Route 23 buses.
6:45 PM UPDATE: Kyle Moore from Seattle Fire says a 57-year-old woman, “not an officer,” was taken to the hospital by private ambulance with minor injuries.
7:50 PM UPDATE: We’ve now heard from KCSO spokesperson Sgt. Cindi West, who says it all started in White Center, when a “deputy spotted a stolen vehicle near SW 98 and 15 SW. The vehicle fled northbound. At 15th and Henderson the deputy’s car collided with a truck that was not involved in the pursuit. The deputy and the woman in the truck both had minor injuries. The 57 year old woman was taken to Harborview, the deputy went to Highline Hospital. The suspect vehicle continued northbound for a block or 2 and the suspects (2) fled. The female passenger was apprehended and we are still looking for the driver who is described as an Asian or Hispanic male, possibly in his teens. Our Major accident response unit is investigating the accident.” Here’s a wider view of the main scene:
9:10 PM UPDATE: The county investigators have finished their work at the scene and SW Henderson is open again. The stop sign on the northwest corner of 15th/Henderson was taken out, so a temporary one is in place for now.
(Photo by Holli Margell)
A comment following Sunday’s report of burglaries at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center mentioned vandalism at Delridge P-Patch. We don’t know if it’s related, but we do know more about the P-Patch problems tonight, thanks to this firsthand report from Valerie:
The storage shed at the Delridge P-Patch (5078 25th Avenue SW, at 25th Ave SW and Puget Blvd SW) has been vandalized , with holes chopped into the walls from the outside and both doors badly damaged, twice in the past five days. So far nothing has been stolen, but both times the damage has required considerable effort to repair. Police reports have been filed for both attempts, but of course after the fact there’s not much to be done except make the repairs.
People garden here through the city’s P-Patch program, which not only provides individuals with a space to garden in the city, but P-Patches also donate a significant amount of fresh, organic produce to food banks around the area. All P-Patch maintenance and improvements are done on a volunteer basis by people who garden there, and it’s dispiriting to have to make repairs after pointless acts of vandalism.
We’d appreciate it if people would keep an eye out, and if anyone sees anything suspicious at the Delridge P-Patch, or any P-Patch, please report it to Seattle Police.
And if you see this before 7 pm, one more reminder that tonight is the monthly West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting at the Southwest Precinct (Delridge/Webster).
ORIGINAL 10:41 PM REPORT: If you are noticing a large police response in southeastern West Seattle: According to scanner traffic, police are responding to a report of a man with a gun following a woman from a bus stop and sexually assaulting and robbing her. Again, this is a preliminary report, as monitored by scanner, but police have rushed to the area to look for the reported attacker; the early description is not too detailed – black man, wearing all black, orange bandana over his face, walking north on 18th SW from the 8800 block. We’ll add any additional details that become available.
UPDATE, 12:20 PM MONDAY: Just talked with Det. Mark Jamieson of SPD media relations, who will soon publish an update on this incident on SPD Blotter. He says police have not arrested anyone yet. The victim told police the attacker came up behind her as she walked east on SW Trenton after getting off a bus on Delridge and that he pulled her into an alley and sexually assaulted her at gunpoint before stealing her phone and taking off. She called 911 from a friend’s home; police rushed to the scene (as we noted at the time), including a K-9 team, and searched extensively but didn’t find the man. A few additional description details besides the ones in our original report: Mid-to-late 20s, dark complexion, medium height, possibly under the influence of drugs, and had a “foul body odor.” If you have any information, call detectives at 206-684-5575.
Management at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center in North Delridge says this has never happened before – and they hope you can help make sure it doesn’t happen again:
Hello Neighbors – I am sad to say that your neighborhood Cultural Arts Center, Youngstown, has been the victim of two break ins in the last week. The SW Precinct officers have responded to our calls quickly and dusted for fingerprints while taking our statements.
Youngstown is the home to several well known and respected non-profit organizations, two of them, Power of Hope and Nature Consortium, both have been broken into this week.
In the six years since Youngstown opened we have not experienced anything like this. As anyone who has been a victim themselves understands, our sense of security has been shaken.
We suspect that these break-ins have happened between midnight and 5 am. If anyone living or working in the neighborhood noticed anything out of the ordinary recently, especially the nights the break-ins occurred (Monday night into Tuesday morning and/or Friday night into Saturday morning) please report it to the SW Precinct immediately.
Thank you.
Margaret Way, DNDA @ Youngstown
And if you see anything suspicious *in progress* – there or elsewhere – call 911.
3:04 PM: And this afternoon’s other sentencing at the King County Courthouse – 9 years in prison for Duane Starkenburg, who admitted to sexually motivated attacks on joggers, and to molesting a child years earlier. He pleaded guilty last month; court documents indicate he was suspected in “nearly 10” other attacks, though charges were only filed in three.
3:34 PM UPDATE: At this afternoon’s hearing, WSB contributor Katie Meyer reports, no one spoke – either on behalf of the victims, or on behalf of Starkenburg. He was ordered to get treatment for sexual deviancy when his sentence is over, and he has been ordered to stay away from Lincoln Park for a decade. Our photo of him – those following the case will note, he no longer has a shaved head – has been added to this story. (added) That shot was in the hallway; in the courtroom, he tried to hide his face from the cameras:
When Judge Sharon Armstrong asked the defendant if he had anything to say, Starkenburg said simply “No, your honor.” The judge said that the “exceptional” sentence – including the order for him to serve the sentences on the different charges consecutively, not concurrently – “… promotes justice by assuring a sanction that is commensurate with the defendant’s conduct, and in protecting the public from the defendant’s conduct.”
We are at the King County Courthouse for two sentencings this afternoon. The first one has just been announced, in last year’s White Center murder of Sweetheart Failautusi: King County Superior Court Judge Mary Yu sentenced Anthony Haroldlee Smith to 15 years, 4 months, as recommended after he agreed to plead guilty. More on partner site White Center Now (including video of the hearing to be added; the clip above is a short placeholder in which you see Smith being taken past the victim’s friends/family in the courtroom right after the sentencing).
The vacant former Genesee Hill Elementary is being besieged by vandals, says Seattle Public Schools, so now they’re going to put up even more fencing. Four weeks ago, we reported on a new locked gate along SW Genesee, which was mostly aimed at vandals, according to the district, but now it seems that’s not enough. Tom Redman from the SPS Capital Projects and Planning department tells WSB the district is “going to fence off the Genesee Hill building with temporary fencing in the near future. There has been increasing vandalism and graffiti plus another break-in last week. Crews will fence off the building, but it will not affect the garden use or the field use (use of the field as a dog park is still not allowed).” Right now, it doesn’t seem likely the Genesee Hill building will ever reopen; in the district’s BEX IV levy planning, it’s mostly under discussion as a future site for an elementary to replace Schmitz Park.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
One month ago tonight, someone killed 51-year-old Greggette Guy of Kent in her long-ago hometown, West Seattle.
She was found dead in the water off Beach Drive the morning of March 12th, declared by police later that week to have been a victim of murder.
They have not yet arrested anyone, nor are they commenting on progress of the investigation. At last night’s Admiral Neighborhood Association meeting, Community Police Team Officer Ken Mazzuca was asked if he had heard anything new; no, he said, adding that Homicide Division detectives are “keeping things close” on the case. He and Crime Prevention Coordinator Mark Solomon, who had accompanied him to the meeting to discuss unrelated issues, stressed that police are still eager to hear any information that might lead to a break in the case.
That is echoed by Ms. Guy’s family. We asked their spokesperson, her brother-in-law Dennis Guy – who first contacted us last month with news of the memorial fund – if they had anything to say for this story. He e-mailed us back:
A month has passed since we lost our beloved Greggette Guy and we are still coping with the void that her loss has left. We appreciate the support the West Seattle community has given. The police are still investigating and would appreciate any information that residents could provide.
Memorial fund information is included on the two websites:
http://www.eycfc.com/sitemaker/sites/Edline1/obit.cgi?user=595115Guy#
greggetteguymemorial.home.comcast.net
We are still collecting information on placing an additional reward.
(WSB photo from Emma Schmitz Viewpoint, March 20th)
While Seattle Parks has done work on visibility issues at Emma Schmitz Viewpoint – where police believe Ms. Guy was killed, and where they found her car the day they found her body half a mile away – police acknowledge that concerns remain. Southwest Precinct Operations Lt. Pierre Davis confirms they will be organizing community walks in the area (no dates/times announced yet).
And acting Parks Superintendent Christopher Williams is coming to West Seattle next week to talk about safety issues to discuss safety and security at park and recreation facilities in the West Seattle area,” according to the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council, which will feature Williams at their monthly meeting next Tuesday (7 pm April 17th, SW Precinct meeting room).
In the meantime, if you have any information that might help police investigating Greggette Guy’s murder, here’s the CrimeStoppers poster with information, one more time, same one you’ve seen on utility poles and in business windows:
WSB coverage of this case is all archived here, newest-to-oldest.
Police say car prowls are down – we’re not getting as many reports lately, either – but don’t get complacent; somebody broke into Toby‘s car the other night:
Just wanted to let everyone know my car was ransacked (Monday) night in my driveway on the 9200 block of 32nd Ave SW. Nothing appears stolen but glove box contents were thrown on the floor. CDs were also strewn about. I accidentally left my car unlocked so no lock or window damage. But I think that’s why I had uninvited guests as nothing of value was visible. It’s been reported to the police. Good luck out there!
Next West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting, by the way, is next Tuesday, 7 pm, Southwest Precinct (Delridge/Webster). Special guest, acting Parks Superintendent Christopher Williams, will talk about safety in city parks.
Amie e-mailed this morning not only to report that her car was broken into, but to share what she saw, in hopes it will lead to an arrest:
My car was broken into this morning at the Westcrest offleash dog park. I witnessed one of the suspects running away from my car, getting into the getaway car and driving away. I was walking up the lower hill with two friends and our dogs when I witnessed a suspicious-looking guy jogging away from my car. I immediately went to my car and saw that the window had been smashed. I definitely interrupted the burglary in process. The only things that were takes were an FM iPhone adapter and car charger.
My call to 911 was at 6:20 am, which was about 3-4 minutes after I witnessed him running from my car. The suspect is caucasian, early to mid 20s, tall (6′-ish) with sandy-blonde hair and a thin build. I’m less sure of what he was wearing but think it was jeans and a dark-colored sweatshirt.
There was a second person driving the car, but I did not see them at all. A woman at the dog park said she saw the car and occupants when she arrived at the park and that they were both caucasian males. The car is an older model red Japanese model (Honda Civic/Accord or Toyota Tercel) that has a black or gray-primed quarter panel over the driver’s side wheel. The SPD took prints and provided an incident # of 12-107322. If you see a car matching this description, please reports its location to the police immediately.
Two West Seattle Crime Watch notes this morning:
THE CASE OF THE PEPPER-SPRAY-ARMED SHOPLIFTING SUSPECT: Seattle Police put this one on their SPD Blotter website this morning. Last night around 8:30 pm, they say, a shoplifting suspect at Admiral Safeway pepper-sprayed store security and a bystander, and then took off running. He allegedly tried to spray police too, when they caught up with him in a nearby alley, eventually using a Taser to stop him. All this, SPD Blotter says, over $32 in merchandise. You can read their full summary here.
BURGLARY INTERRUPTED: At last night’s Southwest District Council meeting (full report to come), SW Precinct operations Lt. Pierre Davis said burglaries, auto thefts, and car prowls are still down. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t happening at all – in the Fairmount Park area, Donny came home Monday evening to discover his home had been ransacked – he sent this photo as police investigated:
From Donny’s e-mail:
I arrived home near 37th and Findlay, interrupting a burglary. Two of my doors were severely damaged when pried open; every room in my home had been ransacked with many valuables missing.
He says it’s believed there were several burglars involved, including someone “acting as a lookout,” and his neighbors had noticed an “older, rose-colored long vehicle” in the area.
Just as he was about to go to trial – with jury selection to start within a day or so – Duane Starkenburg has struck a deal in both cases against him. He is the Gatewood man charged a year ago with attacking women joggers and then charged last fall in a years-old child rape case (he has been in jail since his arrest in that case). The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office says that Starkenburg has pleaded guilty in connection with both cases:
(He) pleaded guilty to two counts of Assault Second Degree and one count of Assault Third Degree with Sexual Motivation for assaulting three women joggers in West Seattle’s Lincoln Park in 2010 and 2011. In each assault, Starkenburg would grab a female jogger and plant his face into the victim’s buttocks.
He also pleaded guilty to a separate charge of Child Molestation Second Degree for sexually assaulting a girl who was 9 or 10 years old, an incident that occurred approximately ten years ago and was recently reported. The total sentence range is 103 to 130 months in prison. Prosecutors will recommend 116 months when Starkenburg is sentenced on April 13 before Judge Sharon Armstrong at the King County Courthouse, 2:30 p.m. in courtroom E-847.
(That would be 4 months short of 10 years.) The original charges against Starkenburg were: In the Lincoln Park attacks, two counts of indecent liberties and one count of attempted indecent liberties; in the other case, child rape. That case was to be tried at some point after the completion of the trial that was to start this week in the jogger-attacks case.
(Photo from February 2011 hearing by Mike Siegel/Seattle Times, republished with permission)
Heard this on the scanner and then received a note from a victim – someone driving along 59th SW in Alki fired what’s believed to be a pellet gun at homes/cars. The note we received wanted to give a heads-up to others, and says: “I was just sitting in my living room and a bullet came through my living room window. I went outside and my neighbor’s car window was smashed out or shot out; my wife saw a orange-ish 4-door car drive away.” Haven’t heard any word of arrests or stops so far but we’ll be following up.
10:29 PM UPDATE: Added a photo of the living-room window, taken by the victim, who says the hole seemed too big for a “pellet.”
Two incidents of note, with sizable police responses you might have noticed Friday afternoon/evening:
THREAT INVESTIGATED: Police were in The Junction in the 10 pm hour investigating a report that a restaurant/bar proprietor was threatened by a man with a knife. We don’t know yet what transpired in the interim, but the search for suspect(s) eventually led to Fauntleroy/Edmunds, alongside the south end of the vacant Huling property on the southwest corner. According to scanner traffic, someone at that scene reportedly had cuts and abrasions, but was not believed to be the original suspect; we were not able to talk with officers at the scene, but saw a fire crew and private ambulance. We’ll update this if/when more information becomes available.
KNIFE CONFISCATED IN SCHOOL PARKING LOT: We checked with police after a note from Gary about several police cars at Chief Sealth International High School right around the time school let out today, 3 pm. Southwest Precinct Lt. Ron Smith says police were called by school security staffers who tried to get a group of about 40 people gathered in the parking lot, including a few who were arguing, to disperse – school security was worried a fight might break out. They told police that four people in the group were not identifiable as students from Sealth or adjacent Denny International Middle School. Police discovered that a girl who was among the four was in possession of a knife. No one was arrested, no one was hurt, but the girl was questioned and the knife, which she said she kept for protection, was confiscated.
Two and a half weeks after 51-year-old Greggette Guy, a former West Seattleite, was found dead in the water off Beach Drive, there is still no word of a break in the murder case, though we inquired with police again today. The last public statement about the case came eight nights ago, when Southwest Precinct commander Capt. Steve Paulsen spoke to the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting (here’s our coverage, with video of what he said). Beach Drive residents, meantime, continue to note increased police visibility, and Beach Drive Blog is advocating for more lighting (here’s their latest report).
And today, we heard again from Ms. Guy’s brother-in-law, who contacted us last Friday once they set up a memorial fund (here’s our story from that night). Dennis Guy offered information for donating at bank branches; we asked if they were also setting up a way to donate online, and now, they have accomplished that:
A web page has been created with the Memorial Fund information: Go to greggetteguymemorial.home.comcast.net.
A memorial fund has been set up in Greggette’s name. The fund will be used to erect a memorial, if permitted, at the park where she died and/or to add to the reward for information about her death. If you wish to donate, please use one of the donation options below.
Donation Options:
1. Go to any Bank of America and make a deposit in the account with the following details:Name on Account: Dwight K. Guy
Account Number: 1381004028072. For existing PayPal users, please use the Send Money tab on your PayPal page to send a personal gift to greggetteguymemorialfund@gmail.com. This will avoid any fees.
3. For those without an existing PayPal account and wishing to donate electronically, please click on the Donate button on the website.
Thank you to those that have donated so far.
Our coverage of the case is archived (in reverse chronological order) here. If you have any information that might be related to the case, call 911 or the Seattle Police Homicide Tip Line, 206-233-5000 (police say anonymous tips are welcome).
That is WSB contributor Christopher Boffoli‘s photograph of police arresting 26-year-old Nicholas Jae Bowman early Sunday on Harbor Avenue SW, for allegedly shooting at people in the Alki business district. WSB policy is to usually not publish names/faces until someone is charged – and now, the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office confirms, Bowman is charged in the case.
He is due in court April 11th to answer one count of second-degree assault. Court documents say it all started late Saturday night when several 911 callers reported a man pointing a gun at people outside the Bamboo Bar and Grill; he ran away, but then was seen driving in the area, and firing his gun at a man behind nearby Cactus Restaurant. No one was hit or hurt. A description of Bowman and his car enabled police to stop him a short time later (as we reported in ongoing Sunday morning coverage); court documents say he told them he had a .45-caliber handgun in his glove box, and officers found a .45 bullet and brass knuckles when they arrested him. Investigators say three guns, including a semiautomatic .45, are registered to Bowman. Prosecutors are asking that he be required to give them up while the case is pending. Though he has no known criminal history, they write, “his actions in the present case warrant extreme caution,” and that’s why they also are asking the court to keep his bail set at $100,000.
Two West Seattle Crime Watch notes this afternoon. First, an update from the Alki gunfire incident we covered early Sunday:
(Sunday morning photo by Christopher Boffoli for WSB)
If you missed our story – nobody was hurt, but police arrested a 26-year-old Central District man who they say fired at another man in the alley behind Cactus (they say the suspect was thrown out of Bamboo earlier). After getting a clear description of his vehicle, officers pulled him over shortly afterward, on Harbor Avenue near Salty’s. He’s been in jail since about 3:30 Sunday morning – no charges yet, but he’s listed as “bail denied,” and we’re checking with prosecutors on his status and will add any additional info here. 5:05 PM UPDATE: His bail was set this afternoon at $100,000; deadline for filing charges is Wednesday. The court documents say police found a shell casing as well as a bullet at the scene, both .45 caliber, as was the handgun found in the suspect’s possession.
Meantime, we received a reader report of vandalism at a school playground:
Thanks to Carrie for sending that photo from the playground at Lafayette Elementary, West Seattle’s most populous grade school. We’ve blurred the graffiti – which was a phrase suggesting drug use, rather than a “tag” – as per our usual policy. We checked with Lafayette and are told they’ve reported it to administration, as they’re required to, but that “spot painting” is likely in order too. Meanwhile, keep an eye out for graffiti vandals, since police say their best chance is to get a call so quick they can catch them in the act.
Last but not least:
Stopping by Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (WSB sponsor) late this morning, we remarked that the pastry case was so empty, it must have been a busy morning. No, the baristas informed us, the “pastry bandit” was to blame. Investigating further with Hotwire proprietor Lora Swift, we found out they’ve had their pastry/donut deliveries stolen three times in the past week or so, and a table was taken from the Hotwire patio too. Other businesses with doorstep deliveries, be forewarned.
2 reports of note tonight – one definitely a crime, the second one, hard to tell:
SCOOTER STOLEN: Sonia reported this one on the WSB Facebook wall. She and her daughter were at Lincoln Park late today when someone made off with her daughter’s scooter: “It was a Barbie scooter. My daughter was playing on the logs and I was taking pictures of her. We were by the construction area (Colman Pool).” If you find one abandoned somewhere, contact police, and tell them you know whose it might be.
CENSUS WORKER? OR WOULD-BE BURGLAR? Tanya had a visitor at her door along Fauntleroy in the Morgan Junction area, asking about her neighbors:Read More
(Photos by Christopher Boffoli for WSB)
12:17 AM: Police have stopped what they believe to be a suspect in a case of gunfire reported on Alki a short time ago. No injuries reported at this point, but it is still an active investigation with at least two locations – where the gunfire happened, and where the suspect was stopped.
12:30 AM UPDATE: WSB contributor Christopher Boffoli is at the scene where police stopped the suspect in his car, which matched the description we’d heard via scanner, a Subaru with spoiler. They also reported recovering a .45-caliber handgun. Back in the 2800 block of Alki SW, they are looking for evidence of gunfire.
1:08 AM UPDATE: Police have published a short summary of this on SPD Blotter. One additional detail from their report: This involved two people in “an altercation” outside, not IN a bar. We heard scanner traffic regarding the reported target of the gunfire saying it happened in the alley behind Cactus; one officer reported finding a “live round” in the area.
In the SPD Blotter item, Gang Unit detectives are mentioned, and Christopher indeed said he saw them at the arrest scene, which was near Salty’s.
ADDED SUNDAY AFTERNOON: A few followup details from Southwest Precinct Lt. Alan Williams: The suspect is 26 years old and had been escorted out of an area bar before all this happened, following a “disturbance.” Lt. Williams also clarifies that while Gang Unit detectives were investigating, that unit “investigates incidents of this nature even if there is no indication that those involved are associated with gangs” – so don’t assume that just because the Gang Unit shows up, it’s definitely gang-related.
ADDED SUNDAY NIGHT: The SPD Blotter report also now includes these additional details, and one new one: The man who was shot at was 28 years old. We can’t confirm whether the 26-year-old suspect is still in jail, since at this point we don’t have his name, but we’ll look into that tomorrow.
We’re hearing tonight from the family of 51-year-old Greggette Guy for the first time since her father’s unexpected appearance at last Sunday’s vigil in her memory.
On the eve of her memorial service, her brother-in-law Dennis Guy has reached out on behalf of her family. His message:
There seems to be a lot of interest for helping Greggette Guy’s family and we would like to respond. We established a fund for the purpose of providing financial funds for the following purposes:
(1) increasing the amount of reward money for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of the suspect(s) responsible for the murder of Greggette Guy
(2) and/or assisting the city in installing additional lighting and/or memorial bench along the area where the crime took place
We are thankful to the West Seattle Blog for providing information to the community and are sorry that we were not able to provide information due to personal and investigative reasons. We echo the thoughts of some of the (commenters) that speculation, especially insensitive ones, should be kept to oneself as they can be especially hurtful at a time such as this. Greggette Guy had lived in the West Seattle area for a few years when she was younger and enjoyed the serenity and the waves of the Alki Beach area.
We are thankful to the media for respecting the family’s privacy in this time of need as a result of this tragic event.
The link for more information about who Greggette Guy really is:and how to make contributions:
http://www.edlineyahncovingtonfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/Edline1/obit.cgi?user=595115GuySincerely,
Dennis Guy
The page at that link includes Ms. Guy’s full obituary, with much more about her life than we have heard before, as well as information on where/how to donate to the fund. Meantime – police have not commented publicly on the case since Southwest Precinct commander Captain Steve Paulsen spoke at last Tuesday’s West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting (video of everything he said is in our report from that night). If you have any information that might be related to the case, call 911 or the Seattle Police Homicide Tip Line, 206-233-5000 (police say anonymous tips are welcome). Our coverage of stories about Ms. Guy’s murder, dating back to the discovery of her body the morning of March 12th, is archived here, newest to oldest.
Two West Seattle Crime Watch notes today – the first, a reader report from Daniel:
This morning between midnight and 8 am, someone broke into my car and stole my briefcase that was sitting in the back seat. The cross streets I live near are 63rd Ave. SW and Admiral. I wanted to let you know just in case if anyone heard or saw anything suspicious. … Attached is a photo of the damage.
Also – after Lauren e-mailed us to ask about “heavy police presence” and medic crews at 16th/Trenton early this morning, we checked with SPD, and though it doesn’t appear to have been a big incident, in case you saw/heard it and wondered, here’s what police say: Officer Renée Witt in SPD media relations explains that it was a fight that started with an “unwanted guest” getting kicked out of a party around 5:30 am. Two men got into a fight; one got hit and fell down in the road at that intersection, and that’s where authorities came in. The victim was 20 and suffered only a “small cut above the right eye.”
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