Law enforcement failed my sister

In Snohomish one year ago, my 60-year-old sister died from blunt force trauma to the back of head. The cause of death was considered “undetermined.” She was in the middle of a heated divorce, money was involved, there was motive and opportunity. The police made grave mistakes; in actuality there was not an investigation with merit. The scene of her death was never fully looked at. Her autopsy had chilling details of recent and past abuse.

She was one of nine children. Her siblings and children were aware of her fears and witnessed numerous occasions of abuse. The police had been called to the home on more than one occasion.

In the end, the last four days of her life, she passed away with only one person in her home. This person was there against a restraining order. Her family fought hard for the Snohomish law enforcement to act, but only in vain as nothing was ever accepted by the prosecuting attorneys. They felt they had nothing to go on. The main person of interest hid behind a lawyer, refused a lie detector or any questioning, so rather than go to trial to determine if there was sufficient evidence of a possible homicide, her case was closed but left undetermined. The stacks of pleas and statements held no meaning to the prosecuting attorneys.

Snohomish, your sleeping law enforcement needs a good looking at for negligence and the “keystone cop syndrome.” The family can never rest until answers to questions are found. It’s a shame that we as taxpayers are left with this burden on our shoulders.

Bonnie Doty