Published: Monday, January 30, 2012

Monroe 5K run honors Jayme Biendl's life

Herald staff

Sarah Weiser / The Herald

Jim Hamm, Jayme Biendl's father, is surrounded by friends and family after a 5K run in Monroe on Sunday, the first anniversary of corrections officer Biendl's death. Around 500 people joined in the event, which raised more than $15,000 for the Behind the Badge Foundation.
Sarah Weiser / The Herald

Runners pass by the front entrance of the Monroe Correctional Complex during the Biendl 5K Run Sunday morning.
Sarah Weiser / The Herald

Ken King, of Edmonds, a long-term boyfriend of Jayme Biendl, gets a hug from Linda Haptonstall, volunteer prison chaplain and Biendl's friend, following the First Annual Officer Biendl 5K Run Sunday morning.
Sarah Weiser / The Herald

Family members of Jayme Biendl walk together during the 5K Run in Monroe Sunday morning.
Sarah Weiser / The Herald

Crystal Dalton, of Camano Island, pins on her race bib before the start of a 5K run on Sunday, the first anniversary of Corrections Officer Jayme Biendl's death.
Sarah Weiser / The Herald

Jim Hamm, Jayme Biendl's father, leads the way as he and the rest of Biendl's close family finishes a memorial run 5K run in Monroe on Sunday morning.

MONROE -- Washington's Department of Corrections remembered slain officer Jayme Biendl on the first anniversary of her death Sunday.

Biendl was allegedly strangled by inmate Byron Scherf in the chapel of the correctional complex in Monroe on Jan. 29, 2011.

Corrections staff, family and others took part in a 5K run, a candlelight vigil and a statewide moment of silence to remember her.

Organizers said about 500 people participated, raising more than $15,000 for the Behind the Badge foundation.

Three of Biendl's coworkers were fired for failing to secure the chapel, being outside their assigned zones the night of her death, or making false statements related to the case. Since the slaying, the prison says it has increased training, changed staffing and improved how inmates are classified.

A year after Biendl's death, several of her family members were ready to share their memories. Click here to read Sunday's special report on the woman they lost.