UPDATED WITH NAMES on 3/15:The women who were killed are Barbara Nettlebeck, a King County corrections officer and her daughter Bretta Hawkins, a specialist with Renton Police Department.
...Court records indicate a divorce was under way, initiated by the wife... "We deal with this kind of thing all the time but this really hits home," police spokesperson Paul Kline said...
AXE-WIELDING MAN ACCUSED OF KILLING WIFE, INJURING STEP-DAUGHTER
KOMO
Mar 14, 2009 at 12:25 PM PDT
Updated: Mar 14, 2009 at 5:18 PM PDT
[Excerpts] ORTING, Wash. -- A man has been arrested, accused of killing his wife and critically injuring his step-daughter with an axe. A 911 call came into Pierce County's dispatch around 10:20 p.m. Friday from a man who said he had just attacked his wife and step-daughter, said Det. Ed Troyer with the Pierce County Sheriff's Department. Deputies arrived at the home in the 27200 block of 168th Ave. Ct. E to find a 52-year-old woman dead and a 33-year-old woman critically injured. The woman was rushed to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle where she was listed in critical condition. Detectives say it appears both victims were struck by an axe... "I know she served him papers for a divorce," said neighbor Lola Worrell... Court records indicate a divorce was under way, initiated by the wife. She had worked as a King County corrections officer for more than nine years. In legal papers filed last month, she said: "I may be a corrections officer, but Charles' anger and abusive behavior puts me in fear for my personal safety. He is larger in stature than me, stronger than me, and has broken windows and chairs. He has also thrown various items in our house, breaking them. His violent behavior is escalating." She also claimed he was abusing the dogs and horses on their property. Even though retraining orders were in place, the couple -- along with the woman's 33-year old daughter -- had a yard sale at the house just Friday... The husband has been booked for investigation of first degree murder and first degree assault... the stepdaughter worked for the Renton Police Department as a specialist. [Full article here]
MAN ARRESTED IN AX ATTACK THAT LEAVES WIFE DEAD, STEPDAUGHTER INJURED
Seattle Post Intelligence
By HECTOR CASTRO
Last updated March 14, 2009
[Excerpts] A Pierce County woman who was divorcing a husband she accused of domestic violence was found dead late Friday and her daughter badly hurt, both apparently bludgeoned with an ax... Detective Ed Troyer said the grisly attack was something normally seen "only in a horror film"... The 52-year-old wife was already dead. Troyer said that initially, deputies believed both women were dead, but one of the deputies noticed eye movement in the daughter and immediately called for medical aid. The woman who was killed was a King County corrections officer and her daughter a specialist with Renton police... The women wrote that on several occasions her husband treated both household pets and their farm animals with cruelty, once hitting a horse in the head with a baseball bat because, he allegedly said, it had chased one of their dogs. "He thought it was amusing, and laughed, telling me it sounded like 'hitting a home run,'" the woman wrote in her declaration for a restraining order... In a reply, the husband reported that he had mental health problems and did "not deal with stress well." He also asked the court to order his wife to pay spousal support because he was unemployed. His wife reported that her husband was intentionally remaining unemployed to avoid paying child support for a daughter he had from a previous relationship. A mutual restraining order was currently in place and a hearing in the proceedings was scheduled for Thursday... [Full article here]
WOMAN STRUCK BY AX, KILLED IN WASH.
Seattle Times
March 14, 2009 at 5:45 PM
[Excerpts] ...The Seattle Times reports that the deceased woman had worked as a King County corrections officer for more than nine years, and that her daughter has worked at the Renton Police Department for seven years doing front desk work and data entry... When police arrived at the scene they found several spraypainted messages, including "I loved my wife" and "Sorry to my friends I could not get help." [Full article here]
ORTING MAN ARRESTED IN FATAL AX ATTACK
KING 5 News
By CHRIS DANIELS
06:30 PM PDT on Saturday, March 14, 2009
[Excerpts] ...Police say the house had been spray painted with several messages, including "I loved my wife" and "Sorry to my friends I could not get help." Neighbors say the couple was going through a divorce, and the wife may have recently kicked him out of the house. "From what you can see on his house, you can tell he's definitely hurting inside," said Steve Brown. "I'm not a psychologist, so I can't say what made that in his mind decide to do what he did"... The 52-year-old victim worked at the Regional Justice Center in Kent, supervising inmates. The staff is having a tough time dealing with the news of her death. Corrections department spokesperson William Hayes released a statement saying: "It's a huge tragedy for the department. She was an excellent officer, liked by everyone." The daughter worked for the Renton Police department for seven years in a non-commissioned position doing computer and clerical work. She's described as a valuable member of the police department. "We deal with this kind of thing all the time but this really hits home," police spokesperson Paul Kline said. [Full article here]
3/15/2009 UPDATE
VICTIM IN ORTING AX ATTACK HAD FILED RESTRAINING ORDER
KING 5 News
By Tricia Manning-Smith
Sunday, March 15, 2009
[Excerpts] Authorities say a 52-year-old Orting man used an ax to kill his wife and stepdaughter... “I just want everyone to know this was such a tragedy, unforeseen by us and she was just the most wonderful person I've ever known,” said Douglas Armstrong. Armstrong worked with 52-year-old Barbara Nettlebeck as a guard for the past nine years at the Kent Regional Justice Center... [Full article here]
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The Seattle Times reports that the deceased woman had worked as a King County corrections officer for more than nine years, and that her daughter has worked at the Renton Police Department for seven years doing front desk work and data entry... When police arrived at the scene they found several spraypainted messages, including "I loved my wife" and "Sorry to my friends I could not get help.
ReplyDeleteThe daughter has also died.
ReplyDeleteNames of the victims are not expected to be released until Monday.
Killing in a much less violent way is impossible for me to understand - so this is, even for me - a stranger, too hard to grasp.
How can anyone do such awful awful things to any other human being - and even moreso, how can they do this to people that they know?
It seems like after the hundreds and hundreds of deaths I've read while gathering news that I would get desensitized, but the fear, the horror, the pain -
I am so so so so soooooooooo sorry to the friends, family, and co-workers of these women!!!!!!
This crime pierces all of us - but you in a way that will take much longer to see your way past.
May God be with you all and hold you close, hold you tight.
VICTIM IN ORTING AX ATTACK HAD FILED RESTRAINING ORDER
ReplyDeleteKING 5 News
By Tricia Manning-Smith
Sunday, March 15, 2009
ORTING, Wash. - Authorities say a 52-year-old Orting man used an ax to kill his wife and stepdaughter.
Neighbor Lola Worrell may have been among the last to see them before the crime.
Worrell said 33-year-old Bretta Hawkins was helping her mother and estranged stepfather at their garage sale Friday night.
“It was a good visit. Everybody seemed fine Friday. We had no idea things could go that wrong,” she said.
Worrell said she talked to all three family members, Bretta, her mother Barbara Nettleback, and Barbara's husband.
They talked about their pending divorce.
“When I talked to her and told her I was sorry for what she was going through. She said they were just different people and they couldn't change who they were. She didn't go into detail. He wanted to talk more in detail about getting served and living in a motel and so on,” said Worrell.
The 52-year-old suspect is accused of killing his wife and stepdaughter with an ax later that night, then writing statements on a shed, including "I loved my wife" and "Could not find help. Nowhere to go."
According to court documents obtained by KING 5, Barbara Nettlebeck had filed a restraining order against her husband, writing that "I am fearful for my personal safety and for the safe and humane treatment of the family animals. My husband is an angry person."
“I just want everyone to know this was such a tragedy, unforeseen by us and she was just the most wonderful person I've ever known,” said Douglas Armstrong.
Armstrong worked with 52-year-old Barbara Nettlebeck as a guard for the past nine years at the Kent Regional Justice Center.
On Sunday, he came to her home near Orting, knowing he can't change the outcome of this horrendous crime, but pitching in any way he can, by caring for her horses.
“I volunteered to take them and find homes for them,” he said
http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_031509WAB-ax-murder-sunday-SW.3b8c9b4f.html
I stumbled on this site. Thank you for being a voice for a fallen co- worker.
ReplyDeleteThank YOU.
ReplyDeleteBeing here doing this is an honor.