Family of killed woman: 'She didn't deserve to die by someone else's freaking stupidity'

KENT, Wash. — Emotions ran high in and out of a Kent Courtroom Monday morning as the family of Reachella Partman saw the man who police say killed her.

Russell Ward pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder.  He's accused of hitting and killing Partman on a sidewalk near Auburn's Muckleshoot Casino.

"She was a kind, helpful person," said a tearful Cindy Partman, Reachella's sister who was nearby when she was hit.  "And she didn't deserve to die by someone else's freaking stupidity."

Police say on a rainy night on March 2, Ward saw an officer turn on his lights and siren in Auburn for an unrelated call.  They say Ward, who was wanted for probation violation of a manslaughter conviction, thought the cop was after him.

So he took off at speeds near 100 mph in a 45 mph zone near Muckleshoot casino.  They say he lost control trying to pass a car and flipped his SUV, which hit and killed Partman as she walked with her sister on the sidewalk.

"I could've lost both my sisters that night and it's very tragic," said Bolinda Partman.  "She was a good person, great heart, always helping other people. She was in the process of helping someone when the accident killed my sister."

Ward, a member of the Muckleshoot Tribe, has a long history of criminal convictions.  He showed no emotion in the courtroom Monday Morning.

As Ward was ushered out of the courtroom a family member of Partman sitting in the front row punched a window and shouted at Ward.  Several family members left the courtroom in tears.

Police say Ward is such a danger they expressed concern transporting him from the Seattle jail to hear at the Kent Regional Justice Center for the case.  But the judge ruled for now, the case will continue to play out in Kent.

He’s being held on $1 million bail.  His next court date is May 2.

“We just want the truth,” said Bolinda Partman.  “And that's what we're searching for.”

Cox Media Group