TACOMA, Wash. — People close to Kalyn “Penny” Smith say they have mixed emotions over the arrest of a suspect accused of her 2021 murder.
On Tuesday, 59-year-old Edwin Newlander was in court facing a murder charge after being arrested on Thursday last week for his alleged involvement in her death.
“Half of me was happy, half of me is so angry,” Smith’s friend Destiny Fann said.
Fann says she and Smith had been friends since they were 13 years old. She says the two of them could lean on each other when they were going through tough times.
“Penny and I have been through everything together,” Fann said. “There were times in our lives that we got each other through certain things that nobody else could have.”
She remembers the day in October five years ago when Smith’s body was found, just south of I-5 off of East M Street in Tacoma.
Police documents describe her body found in a creek on a 32-degree night, but her clothing wasn’t wet, and areas of her were still slightly warm. Despite finding a compressed neck, cuts and scratches on her body, the medical examiner took 10 months to determine a cause of death.
“It almost doesn’t even feel like it’s been that long. When I found out, I didn’t even believe it, you know, because Penny was such a fighter. That girl, I’ll tell you, there’s not many things that could take her out. So this one was really hard to believe,” Fann said.
Another friend said Smith “should be remembered for her free spirit, outgoing personality, love for the farm life, and was always there if someone needed her, no matter what was going on in her life.”
Arrest documents note Smith was experiencing homelessness at the time of her death and methamphetamine was found in her system.
“Even throughout the years that she would be missing in action. She would still reach out and I would still try and find her. There were days where I’d drive around Tacoma and go look for her,” Fann said.
Investigators found DNA under Smith’s fingernails that was consistent with male DNA. The DNA was uploaded to the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS).
In 2025, another woman reported a rape and had a sexual assault exam.
The woman, who has since died of an overdose, reported that a man who was balding with hair on the sides and called “Ed” had sexually assaulted her. She described a truck consistent with Newlander’s.
DNA from the 2025 case also matched DNA from a 2019 sexual assault. In June 2026, police stopped Newlander’s truck and collected DNA from a cigarette he dropped. That DNA was run through the Washington State Crime Lab and came back as a possible match to the DNA from under Smith’s nails.
In an interview with Newlander described by arrest documents, Newlander admitted to knowing Smith.
“When asked what K.S. was wearing when he last saw her, Newlander recalled that she might have been wearing pajama bottoms with a floral or animal print on them. The victim was in fact wearing flannel pajama bottoms with an animal print when her body was recovered,” the document read.
An arrest of a suspect in Smith’s case may bring Fann mixed feelings as she hopes her friend’s living situation and struggles with addiction don’t diminish any justice Fann says Smith deserves.
“I just miss my beautiful friend. She enjoyed beautiful things in this life. So it wasn’t all bad and that I’m grateful for,” Fann said.
©2026 Cox Media Group
