Tragedy in Alger

If anything seemed obvious during a recent attempt to arraign multiple-slaying defendant Isaac L. Zamora, it was that he was not assisting in his defense.

“You’re fired,” he told his…

BELLINGHAM — The story of Isaac Lee Zamora echoed throughout a conversation with political candidates on the state’s laws on mental illness, programs and funding and how to reform them.

…

By Tahlia Ganser and Aaron Burkhalter

MOUNT VERNON — As the dust settles on the largest crime scene in Skagit County’s history, the bills for the tragedy are starting to trickle…

* Updated with video *

MOUNT VERNON — The arraignment for multiple-slaying defendant Isaac L. Zamora was delayed today for two weeks to give a “death-qualified” attorney time…

As he declared himself guilty and cursed at the judge, the man accused of killing six people and wounding four more appeared in court Tuesday for a second time since his arrest on Sept. 2.

…

Death penalty an option

MOUNT VERNON — Isaac Zamora was formally charged this afternoon with 20 felony counts — including aggravated murder, the only charge in Washington that warrants…

As an Alger volunteer firefighter, Rich DeRuiter sees a lot of trauma, but it’s usually caused by car accidents and fires — random acts that are brutal and painful, but easier to explain.

…

Decals in memory of Skagit County Sheriff’s Deputy Anne Jackson are beginning to appear on patrol vehicles countywide as her peers struggle with losing one of their own.

The decal was the…

SEDRO-WOOLLEY — As a community mourned one of its beloved members last week, a jar collecting money for her family was stolen as they prepared for her funeral.

Julie Binschus, 48, had worked…

Family, friends remember sixth slaying victim

BAY VIEW — It’s telling that there were more laughs than tears at Chester Rose’s memorial service. 
Nicknamed “Chet,” “Chet…

The man accused of the murderous rampage that left six people dead in the Alger area Sept. 2 was seen by state Department of Corrections evaluators as having a low risk of violent conduct and capable…

SEDRO-WOOLLEY — For more than 30 years, Julie Binschus poured her love into the Sedro-Woolley community, but since Sept. 2 it’s been her turn to receive it.

After finishing up her 5 a.m.…

On the afternoon of Sept. 2, Fred Binschus lay in the woods near his home on Silver Creek Drive in Alger, suffering from two gunshot wounds after escaping from an assailant. Then he heard his wife,…

The Skagit County coroner’s office has reported that all six alleged victims in a killing spree that began in Alger on Sept. 2 died by gunshot wounds.

Sheriff’s Deputy Anne Jackson and…

Sedro-Woolley Police officer Adam Musgrove’s last conversation with Anne Jackson was just like every other discussion the two had ever shared — playful yet professional.

She wanted to know…

Planning the memorial service for slain Skagit County Sheriff’s Deputy Anne Jackson had to be done quickly, and the venue had to be big enough to accommodate thousands of people seeking to pay their…

MOUNT VERNON — As 18-year-old Edward Wayne saluted with his right hand, he wiped away tears with his left.

Wayne, who is training to become an officer with the Tulalip Tribe’s Police Department,…

BURLINGTON — The horse without a rider said it all.

Guided by an honor guard officer, the horse led the procession that escorted the body of Skagit County Sheriff’s Deputy Anne Jackson…

Living with a mental illness is a struggle for many families. These loved ones seem to most often strike out against those closest to them, but every so often something pushes them over the real edge…

By Marti Wall
Voices of the Valley
How do we board members of NAMI Skagit (an affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness) express sympathy to all of the loved ones impacted…

BURLINGTON — Thousands of mourners — including law enforcement officers from the Pacific Northwest and Canada — will converge on Burlington-Edison High School this afternoon to honor the memory…

Greg Gillum’s death leaves a void that cannot be filled, said his stepfather, Gordon Winblad.

“I know I will miss his kind and gentle ways,” Winblad said Sunday at Gillum’s memorial…

As Sunday approached in the aftermath of the savage killings in Alger, pastors throughout the Skagit Valley were laboring over what they might say to their congregations.

“I’m thinking…

Skagit County was at the eye of a media storm last week in the wake of what has been described, in cliché shorthand, as a killing spree, deadly rampage, senseless tragedy and other compact catch-phrases.…

MOUNT VERNON — During the first of many funerals for the slain victims of this week’s tragedy, a Catholic priest suggested Friday that the men and women whose lives were cut short Tuesday be looked…

MOUNT VERNON — Out of tragedy has come a clear sense of who slain Skagit County Sheriff’s Deputy Anne Jackson was.

This is the impression of Jeanine Rood, Jackson’s cousin, who arrived…

* Updated with audio *

MOUNT VERNON — After a judge told Isaac Lee Zamora today that he faces six counts of murder and four counts of assault, Zamora replied: “I kill for God. I listen…

Officials anticipate that as many as 5,000 people will attend a memorial service in honor of fallen Skagit County Deputy Anne Jackson on Tuesday.

Gov. Chris Gregoire is scheduled to attend,…

Sedro-Woolley Police officer Adam Musgrove’s last conversation with Anne Jackson was just like every other discussion the two had ever shared — playful yet professional.

She wanted to know…

ALGER — Law enforcement officials will remain at the scenes of two fatal attacks for a fourth day today, hoping to complete a painstaking investigation into what happened in this secluded area in…

MOUNT VERNON — The scope of Tuesday’s tragedy can’t easily be measured, but signs of Skagit County’s grieving are surfacing in piles of flowers and notes scribbled with condolences.

…

ALGER — One of the victims in Tuesday’s violent spree up and down the Silver Creek neighborhood was Chester “Chet” Rose, 58, a community leader there.

“He was very, very respected.…

David Radcliffe was seen by those who knew him as a man of quiet strength who doted on his family and a stalwart friend who loved to laugh.

His former business partner and close friend, Mike…

It’s telling that LeRoy Lange was driving from his son’s to his mother’s house when he was shot to death on Interstate 5 near Alger. He loved to be with his family.

“I can’t believe…

Julie Binschus will be dearly missed by many in the Skagit community, according to her lifelong friend.

Binschus, one of six victims to die in a spree of violence Tuesday, was well known because…

Tuesday’s killing spree in Alger hit close to home for Burlington resident Patricia Rothschiller.

Her 32-year-old son suffers from schizophrenia and found himself in an 11-hour standoff with…

The following people were victims of Tuesday’s shooting and stabbing rampage:

Six killed:

• Sheriff’s Deputy Anne Jackson, 40, responding to a trespasser complaint

The following is the text of a statement from Skagit County Sheriff’s Deputy Anne Jackson’s family:

“We, the family of Anne Jackson, want to acknowledge and extend…

Authorities this morning focused on two crime scenes — the properties where Deputy Anne Jackson and an Alger man were killed and where the bodies of two construction workers were found — as the…

The Skagit Valley Herald is aware that many people in this community knew or know the victims of Tuesday’s shooting and stabbing rampage that killed six people and injured four others.

…

Signs of Isaac L. Zamora’s troubled mental state emerged as early as age 16, when he took a pistol from the glove box of his mother’s car and hid it in his bedroom.

Zamora told law enforcement…

The bodies of Skagit County Sheriff’s Deputy Anne Jackson and several other homicide victims rested in Alger overnight under the sharp eyes of law enforcement as they protected the integrity of several…

Anne Jackson was known to her peers as a champion of the underdogs.

She came to law enforcement on the behalf of animals, but quickly rose to helping anyone in need. As the Skagit County Sheriff’s…

ALGER — This typically peaceful community is in shock after a violent spree on Tuesday left six people dead and four injured.

Five who were killed and two of the injured were attacked in…

Mount Vernon resident Greg Gillum, 38, was one of two construction workers killed Tuesday in a shooting rampage that left five others dead and four more wounded, his family confirmed Wednesday.

* Updated *

MOUNT VERNON—A massive 15-agency investigation continued this morning as law enforcement officials sought to unravel the details of a shooting and stabbing spree that killed…

Isaac Zamora appeared in Skagit County District Court this afternoon for a probable cause hearing where a judge found there was enough evidence to hold him on investigation of six counts of first-degree…

The call came into the Skagit County 911 center a little before 2:20 p.m. Tuesday. It was Dennise Zamora, telling dispatchers there was an “unwanted guest” who was possibly armed. That person was…

* Will be Updated *

At least six people were killed, including a Skagit County Sheriff’s deputy, and two were wounded Tuesday afternoon, apparently by a man who led law enforcement on a high-speed…

OLYMPIA – Gov. Chris Gregoire Tuesday night expressed her condolences to the victims of the six murders in Skagit County and called for an independent review of how the suspect, Isaac Zamora, was…

The mother of the man suspected of killing six people—including a Skagit County Sheriff’s deputy— Tuesday in a shooting rampage in the Alger area said she has long tried to get her son…