EDMONDS – Rows of dolls and stuffed animals line the walls of Hayley Byrne’s room. Down the hall, her sister Kelsey’s soccer trophies are in a place of honor in her room.
The two sisters, ages 9 and 11, shared a love for silly, spontaneous cheers and smiles, relatives said Tuesday night.
“They were wonderful young ladies, bright, intelligent and beautiful,” said an uncle, Oliver Feeback. “They’ve been taken from us prematurely, and it’s only knowing that they’re in the arms of Jesus that gets us through this day.”
The two girls apparently were murdered by their father, Stephen Byrne, before he shot himself on Monday afternoon. The cause of their deaths is under investigation.
Police found the girls in their beds at Byrne’s home in Edmonds on Monday after Byrne dialed 911 and told the dispatcher to send police and medics. Officers found him dead in the back yard with a shotgun nearby.
Before killing himself, he sent an e-mail to family and friends saying he was going to harm himself and the girls, citing his anger and frustration with the court system, Edmonds Police Department Assistant Chief Al Compaan said.
Byrne was angry that his former wife, Suzanne Dawson, had been granted primary custody and had moved from their Bainbridge Island home to Shoreline.
He moved into an Edmonds rental a little over a year ago to be closer to the girls, family friends said. That apparently did little to stem his anger about not being granted equal custody of his daughters.
“He refused to accept the fact he got 40 percent instead of 50 percent,” said Paula Crane, a lawyer for Byrne’s former wife. “He couldn’t move on.”
Byrne’s ex-wife, who divorced him in October 2000, told counselors and therapists that he was often angry, lashing out at her and sometimes at the children, according to court documents from Kitsap County Superior Court.
A report from the guardian-ad-litem who recommended that Dawson get primary custody of the girls cited Stephen Byrne’s “explosive verbal outbursts” and possible depression.
Several times, his behavior escalated into what his former wife believed “bordered on domestic violence,” the report said, but neither she nor the court believed he was a danger to the children.
He tried to change the custody arrangement when she moved to Shoreline but was unsuccessful, court documents show.
“His relationship with his kids seemed to drive his view of life, and he was very adamant he have as large of a role as possible,” said Michael Kirk, a Poulsbo attorney who handled Byrne’s divorce.
Byrne, 50, a self-employed software engineer and energy company consultant, was behind on child support payments because he was unemployed for a period of time, Crane said.
A court filing from the state Department of Social and Health Services indicated that in April Byrne owed $8,673 in overdue child support, and as a result a lien was placed on his property.
Friends and his former wife said he was devoted to the children and felt it was crucial that they spend time with him.
“The girls were just their lives both Suzanne’s and Steve’s,” family friend Patti Lowe of Bainbridge Island said. “He was very involved with the girls’ activities, both school and sports, and very committed to their well being. That’s why this is such a shock.”
Oliver Feeback described Byrne as troubled and unable to accept the custody arrangement. But he said Byrne’s decision to take his life and the lives of the girls was something he “never could have imagined.”
“His daughters loved him and weren’t worried about spending time with him,” he said. “I never saw this coming.”
Their mother is drawing comfort from her family and “trying very hard to comprehend what has happened and get her mind around the magnitude of what she has lost,” he said.
Kelsey, a sixth-grader, “was a daredevil, and nothing scared her,” said Liz Feeback, an aunt. Hayley was “more of a lady,” with names for all of her dolls and stuffed animals.
At Sunset Elementary School in Shoreline, where the girls attended school, counselors were available on Tuesday to talk with students, and the school hosted a meeting for families Tuesday night.
The girls’ cause of death may not be known until toxicology tests are complete.
The two sisters were close, relatives said.
“They did things together all the time,” said Lowe, whose daughter was a friend of the girls. “They were typical sisters, but they always kept an eye out for each other.”
Herald reporter Bill Sheets and Edmonds Enterprise editor Shanti Hahler contributed to this report.
Reporter Katherine Schiffner: 425-339-3436 or schiffner@heraldnet.com.
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