[WA] Mother of former Trooper Ronda Reynolds never gave up

From today's news:
...The Problem Solvers learned of a mother's long struggle to prove her daughter didn't kill herself. She believes something more sinister is at work, and we have uncovered evidence and found experts who are convinced that what was ruled a suicide, was actually a heinous crime...

Ronda Reynolds
RealCrimes
My daughter, Ronda Reynolds, 33, was discovered dead of a gunshot wound to her head, in Toledo, Washington, on December 16, 1998. She died on the floor of her master bedroom walk-in closet, following a heated argument with her husband... That evening, Ronda phoned to tell me that her marriage was over, and she was coming to visit me in eastern Washington, where she would sort things out and form a game plan. She had made plane reservations for the next day, and David Bell would take her to the airport. When deputies arrived at the house, they found her bags and makeup kit packed and ready to go and a phonebook open to airline listings...

From Justice For Ronda
...I could get on with my life if Ronda had been killed in an accident. I could even have accepted suicide, if it truly was suicide. But having to deal every day with a police cover-up – reading and rereading the case file, finding investigative mistakes and reading the blatant lies that have been manufactured to conceal those blunders, keeps the wound of my loss open with no chance of healing. To live without closure is unbearable. To let a politically corrupt law enforcement agency lie, cover up, and disregard a human life to benefit their self-image is unacceptable. The Lewis County Sheriff's Department and all other law enforcement agencies in our country need to be held accountable for their actions, so that no other parent, ever, will have to experience this type of indescribable nightmare.
Barbara Thompson -- Ronda's mother

[For copyright reasons I'm only posting excerpts of the following article, but the original article will likely remain online. If it becomes unavailable and you want it, email me.]
Experts: Investigation botched; former trooper was murdered
Story Published: Apr 29, 2008 at 11:09 PM PDT
KOMO, WA
By Tracy Vedder
Apr 29, 2008
Who pulled the trigger that took the life of former state trooper Ronda Reynolds? Was it suicide? Or was it murder? The Problem Solvers learned of a mother's long struggle to prove her daughter didn't kill herself. She believes something more sinister is at work, and we have uncovered evidence and found experts who are convinced that what was ruled a suicide, was actually a heinous crime. After 10 years, much of the original evidence in Ronda Reynolds' death investigation has been lost or destroyed. So to understand what happened we returned to the scene of her death. We talked to new experts and the original detective on the case. All believe authorities botched the investigation in calling it a suicide. "It was a murder in 1998," says former detective Jerry Berry, "it's a murder today." They believe it's murder set to look like suicide. "That's a rearranged scene," says forensic pathologist Dr. Jeffrey Reynolds, "that's a staged scene." Ronda had been a state trooper and firearms instructor. She left the patrol to work in private security... That night, Ronda booked a flight to her mom's in Spokane. Scene photos show she'd packed her bags, and left a message to her husband on the bathroom mirror: "I love you, call me."Within hours, Ronda was found dead... "I believe she was murdered," Ronda's mother said. However, quoting from police reports, Ron Reynolds told investigators the day and night before her death, they "were talking about separating" and she'd been "talking about committing suicide"... We tried to talk to Ron Reynolds, but he didn't return phone calls, and his attorney says he will not do an interview... "The first red flag was the gun being in her left hand," says Berry... Another oddity: No fingerprints on the weapon. "There should have been at least smudges somewhere on the gun, but there was nothing," said Berry. "It was clean." Berry admits he and the department made mistakes which caused them to lose critical evidence. For instance, he wasn't allowed to interview the three Reynolds boys until two months after Ronda's death. But he still thought the case could be solved. "Every piece of circumstantial evidence screamed murder," he said. But seven months after Ronda's death, Ron Reynolds' attorney wrote the department insisting they remove the cloud of suspicion and close the case... Berry says the sheriff's office caved, closing the case as a suicide over his objections. "They just basically wanted me to let it go, leave it as a suicide and move on and take on other cases and be done with it"... Early this year, Ronda's mother asked forensic pathologist Dr. Jeffrey Reynolds - who's no relation - to review the case. With 2,000 autopsies and 30 years of practice to his credit, the Problem Solvers asked him to review it again - for us. "This is not a self-inflicted wound," says Dr. Reynolds... Ronda's mother Barb Thompson has given up expecting anyone will ever face charges. Now, she just wants Ronda's death certificate changed from suicide to homicide. "She definitely deserves that," she said. We've asked the Lewis County Sheriff to explain their reasons for closing the case as a suicide. They've refused. They did ask two outside organizations to review their investigation of Ronda's death. The Washington State Attorney General's homicide team agreed with Lewis County, calling it suicide. The former commander of the New York Police Homicide Task Force found this was a staged crime scene and murder.
http://www.komotv.com/news/local/18394794.html

Justice for Rhonda
http://justiceforronda.com/bio.htm
http://justiceforronda.com/trooper1.htm

Excerpt from Chapter 5 of the book, Justice for Ronda, by Ronda's mother, Barbara Thompson
http://www.realcrimes.com/Reynolds/excerpt_Ronda.htm