SNOHOMISH — Violet Simonson first called a minister.
She is thankful every day she did. The clergyman’s words carried her through the darkest hours of her life. They continue to comfort her more than 18 years later.
“He told me to give it to God,” Simonson said. “God was going to take care of it. As soon as I heard that I felt relief.”
The Seattle mother made the call after learning her only child, Michelle, was dead.
Simonson and her husband returned to their Lake City home from a fishing trip to find a Snohomish County sheriff’s detective’s business card stuck in the screen door.
Investigators told her they suspected that Michelle Koski’s body had been found near Highway 522 and Echo Lake Road in southeast Snohomish County. They told Simonson it might be a couple of days before they’d be sure.
Simonson would not wait. She retrieved Michelle’s dental records.
“My baby was not going to lie there without a name. She wasn’t going to lie there as a nobody,” Simonson said.
Michelle, 17, had been strangled and beaten.
The killer has never been found.
Investigators are reviewing evidence for possible genetic testing, Snohomish County sheriff’s detective Dave Heitzman said.
Detectives also included the 1990 slaying in the state’s first deck of cold-case playing cards. The cards are provided to jail and prison inmates around the state in hopes of soliciting new tips about unsolved homicides and missing persons cases.
Michelle is featured on the five of diamonds.
The girl has been dead longer than she was alive.
Simonson grieves for the memories she’ll never share with Michelle. She won’t get a chance to pass along her fine dishes or other family heirlooms to her daughter. She’ll never get a new picture of her beautiful girl. She won’t hold Michelle’s children in her arms.
Simonson wants to see the killer caught out of fairness for Michelle but she doesn’t seek vengeance. She doesn’t believe in the death penalty.
She leaves judgment up to God.
“I don’t know why my daughter had to die and I lived,” Simonson said. “That’s not up to me.”
Reporter Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463 or hefley@heraldnet.com.
About this series
Snohomish County sheriff’s detectives created the state’s first deck of cold-case playing cards. Each Sunday for a year, The Herald is publishing a story about a case featured on one of the cards. The 52 cards can be viewed at www.heraldnet.com.
Anyone with information about unsolved homicides or missing persons cases is asked to call 800-222-TIPS (8477). Up to a $1,000 reward is offered.
Tips also can be left on the sheriff’s tip line at 425-388-3845. Callers may remain anonymous, although tips have been more successful when callers speak with detectives, police said.
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