Woman’s spirit recalled

STANWOOD – As a little girl, Dayna Marie Fure was nicknamed Rambo.

Right away, her parents noticed that she wasn’t going to let her older sister push her around, said her father, Ben Fure, on Thursday.

“She really could hold her own against her sister,” he said, adding that the nickname was eventually shortened to a “more feminine Boski.”

Memorial service A memorial service for Dayna Marie Fure will be at 4 p.m. Tuesday at the Stanwood High School gymnasium.

Dayna Fure, 18, was smart and strong, her father said, so he knew it was serious when the Stanwood High School senior felt compelled to get a protection order against her ex-boyfriend, Mainor Mario Valentin, 23.

The honor student had broken up with Valentin about two months before, but the Seattle man pursued her and had become suicidal.

Police advised the teenager to get a protection order after Valentin parked outside her workplace and pointed a gun at his head May 13. The next day, on her 18th birthday, she went to court.

Four hours later, police served the order to Valentin, Stanwood Police Chief Tom Davis said.

Ben Fure stayed home from his job at Twin City Foods that day to support his daughter.

“I gave her a hug and asked her what she wanted to do. She said she wanted to move. It really choked me up.”

Ben Fure found the bodies of his daughter and Valentin on Monday. Valentin shot the woman before turning the gun on himself. Both died of gunshot wounds to the head, according to the Snohomish County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Ben Fure had left for work about 5:30 a.m. Monday. His daughter was asleep in her bedroom. She didn’t go to school and didn’t answer calls to her cellphone, her family said.

Police said there were no signs of a break-in, but family members believe Valentin came in through a window. Michael Fure, Dayna’s brother, said he found Valentin’s coat, socks, shoes and hat outside the window.

Ben Fure grapples with what more could have been done to protect his daughter from a man who police and health professionals knew had become distraught.

“As far as I’m concerned, he was a predator. He should have had to wear (an electronic monitoring) bracelet so we would have known where he was. He could have done what he wanted, as long as he stayed away from my daughter,” Ben Fure said.

The two began dating after meeting at a dance club about two years ago. Valentin became possessive toward the end of the relationship, Ben Fure said. His daughter decided to call it off.

Police took Valentin to Everett Providence Medical Center’s Colby Campus about 10 p.m. May 13 after he held a gun to his head and kept police at bay for about 90 minutes outside Stanwood’s Merrill Gardens assisted living facility.

Officers determined that they didn’t have probable cause to arrest Valentin, Davis said. Threatening to commit suicide is not a crime, he said.

It is unclear how long Valentin was at the hospital, but police received a call from him about 3 a.m. when he asked to retrieve his cellphone, Davis said. It also is unclear if Valentin cooperated with mental health professionals or agreed to seek help.

The Fure family said Valentin’s family should have been told of his mental state.

“I know he was an adult, but his family, or wherever he was living, should have been notified. Maybe there was something they could have done – maybe he could have gotten some counseling,” Michael Fure said.

Health care workers cannot notify families about mental health issues or any other health concerns under the privacy laws, officials said.

Family members also said they are angry that police didn’t arrest Valentin when he showed up outside a restaurant where Dayna Fure was celebrating her birthday. Police said the protection order did not prohibit Valentin from being in public places.

“Laws need to be changed,” Ben Fure said. “We have to be able to protect our daughters.”

Dayna Fure grew up in Stanwood, where she blossomed into an honor student and athlete. She took karate lessons, earning a purple belt.

“She said she liked the color so much she didn’t want to go any higher,” said friend Deanne Eastbury, who lived next door.

The teen also ran cross-country, alongside her older sister Danielle, 19, who encouraged her to turn out for the team. She earned the “best attitude” award last season.

The teen also earned high grades while holding down a part-time job.

“She was just so focused. Whatever she wanted, she’d find a way to get it – every pair of shoes or new shirt or every grade,” Danielle Fure said.

Three weeks ago, she attended an orientation at Gonzaga University, where she planned to eventually study law. She had earned scholarships from local service clubs.

“She just loved talking to people,” her sister said. “She could make anyone have a better day. She just always wanted to help people.”