Family members of a man found dead in Seattle’s Chinatown International District are demanding answers as those who knew him are remembering his life.
Steven Adams, 42, was found unresponsive at 12th Avenue and South Wheeler Street on Feb. 5 around 10 p.m. and later died Feb. 11 at Harborview Medical Center.
His latest work was caring for the chronically or terminally ill at Family Life Care.
“It was very shocking for all of us,” said Julian Reisenthel, a co-worker at Family Care. “How something so horrible could happen to such a good person, I mean truly good person, is just beyond any of us."
Flyers with the words, “What happened to Steven Adams?” cover hundreds of power poles and streetlamps in the Chinatown International District.
“We need answers. We’re trying to view all the cameras from local areas. We just want to know what happened,” said Brit Fernandez, Adams’ cousin.
A man walking by Adams on Feb. 5 found him unresponsive and flagged down an officer.
“He didn’t have his phone on him or his wallet,” Fernandez said.
His family fears someone murdered him.
“Yeah, I do. We have (a) homicide detective working on it,” Fernandez said.
Seattle police are calling the case a death investigation, though they also say they haven’t ruled out homicide.
“It’s frustrating that we don’t know what happened, and if there’s an investigation, nothing seems to be happening in our minds so far,” said Gregory Schaffer, a director at Full Life.
Adams’ latest work at Full Life was as a home caregiver for the organization’s most challenging clients.
“Steve was the most amazing kind of person. He gave his life to care for other people on a day-to-day basis. He didn’t do it for the money. This is a low-paying, publicly-funded job. He did it because (he) loved people and he wanted to see them in a better circumstance,” Schaffer said.
There’s a photo of Adams working that was installed at Full Life before his death. It’s now a permanent fixture.
“He could make anyone laugh, and he was always laughing himself, and it was so genuine,” Reisenthel said.
Adams died at the hospital six days after he was found on the sidewalk. Eleven days after that, his friends and family are still looking for answers to basic questions.
“Where are the suspects? Why did this happen? Is Steve the innocent victim of a random crime, or was it a targeted assault?” Schaffer said.
Those who loved him are struggling to find closure.
“We expect justice,” Schaffer said.
Adams’ family asks you to think about anything you saw in the areas of 12th and South Weller on the night of Feb. 5 and say if you saw Adams between 9:50 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. to call Seattle police.
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Cox Media Group
