MONROE — Becky Von Rotz misses her son.
She thinks about him every day and wonders what kind of man he would have become.
Von Rotz knows she must cherish the memories of her oldest son. She can’t make new ones with him.
Kyle Von Rotz, 22, was gunned down June 29, 2001, in a wooded area not far from his family’s Maltby home.
Since that day his family has been in pain. Three years after his son was killed, Allen Von Rotz died from a heart attack. His wife believes he was simply overcome with grief, his heart broken.
Snohomish County sheriff’s detectives continue to hunt for whoever shot Kyle Von Rotz.
His death is one of 63 homicide cases assigned to the sheriff’s cold case squad. Detectives Jim Scharf and Dave Heitzman are investigating murders that have gone unsolved for at least a year and are no longer part of the sheriff’s homicide team’s active cases.
Heitzman is leading the probe into Von Rotz’s slaying.
Becky Von Rotz said she has faith the detectives will do everything they can to find whoever shot her son.
The waiting is difficult. She fights against giving up hope. She wonders if getting answers would make any difference. She’s not convinced.
“I had to decide early on having someone charged would not bring my son back,” she said. “It was over the day he was killed whether or not they find whoever did it. I had to decide to move on and not let it take over my life. I have another son who needs me.”
Von Rotz said she could become consumed by dwelling on what investigators are doing or whether she’ll ever face the gunman in a courtroom. It’s not how she has chosen to take on the future.
Von Rotz has since sold the family’s home and moved to Monroe. She leans on her surviving family and good friends. She regularly talks with people she has met through a grief support group.
She remembers her son.
“I think of Kyle every day, and I miss him. Part of your heart gets ripped out,” she said.
Reporter Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463 or hefley@heraldnet.com.
Information sought
Anyone with information about the slaying of Kyle Von Rotz on June 29, 2001, is asked to call the Snohomish County sheriff’s tip line at 425-388-3845. Detectives are interested in finding anyone who may have sold or purchased a Taurus revolver at a gun show between 1995 and 2000 in Monroe, Puyallup or Centralia. A Taurus revolver was found at the crime scene.
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