Jury to review ex-trooper's mysterious '98 death
OLYMPIA, Wash. - It took 11 years, but the mother of a former state trooper has scored a victory in her mission to prove that her daughter's mysterious death in 1998 was due to homicide - not suicide.
A Thurston County judge Friday ordered a jury to review all the evidence and listen to witnesses' testimony in the death of the ex-trooper, Ronda Reynolds, whose lifeless body was found in her closet with a gunshot wound to the head.
One year ago, KOMO News broke the investigation into Reynolds' death. A coroner had already ruled her death as a suicide, but Friday's ruling by Thurston County Superior Court Judge Richard Hicks' will take the case where no Washington court has ever been before.
In essence, the jury will answer the question: was it suicide, or was it murder? It's an outcome that Reynolds' mother, Barb Thompson, has been relentlessly fighting for since her daughter's death.
"My stomach was just jumping up and down," Thompson said after the ruling. "This is justice. And you know we're seeing that, in our day and time, justice really can be served."
Jury members will be allowed to review evidence and hear witnesses. The trial is tentatively set for Nov. 2, and it will be made up of jurors from Lewis County, where Reynolds was living at the time of her death. And the jury's decision could make history.
"I am so excited that the judge took the stand to allow all of the evidence that we have ... which is pretty overwhelming," Thompson said.
The case began in 1998 when Reynolds was found curled up on the floor of her bedroom closet with a handgun nearby after her husband called 911 to report his wife had killed herself.
While some believed her death to be a suicide, the Lewis County Sheriff's lead detective found serious inconsistencies. But in the end, the county coroner ruled Reynold's death a suicide.
However, Barb Thompson never believed her daughter killed herself; she believes something more sinister is at work.
And the heartbroken mother is not alone. KOMO News uncovered evidence and found experts who are convinced that what was ruled a suicide, was actually a heinous crime.
All believe authorities botched the investigation in calling it a suicide.
"It was a murder in 1998," said former detective Jerry Berry. "It's a murder today."
Berry believes the murder was set to look like suicide.
"That's a rearranged scene," said forensic pathologist Dr. Jeffrey Reynolds. "That's a staged scene."
Reynolds had been a state trooper and firearms instructor. She left the patrol to work in private security.
In early 1998, she married Ron Reynolds, an elementary school principal in the small Lewis County town of Toledo. In less than a year, the marriage collapsed. Her mother and close friends talked to her hours before she died and say she was discouraged, but far from suicidal.
"She had watched it come to a head," said Thompson. "She was ready for it and she was ready to move forward and make the best of it."
That night, Ronda Reynolds booked a flight to her mom's in Spokane. Scene photos show she'd packed her bags, and left a message to her husband on the bathroom mirror: "I love you, call me."
After midnight, she called friend and veteran police officer Dave Bell, asking him to pick her up the next morning to take her to the airport. When asked if there was any hint or indication of suicide, Bell is firm: "Nothing. Nothing, not even an inkling."
Within hours, Ronda Reynolds was found dead on the floor of her closet, underneath an electric blanket. She was shot through a pillow that covered her head.
"I believe she was murdered," the woman's mother said.
However, quoting from police reports, Ron Reynolds told investigators the day and night before her death, they "were talking about separating" and she'd been "talking about committing suicide."
Ron Reynolds said he'd tried to talk her out of it but eventually "fell asleep around 5" in the morning. He told police he woke at 6 when his "alarm went off" but that neither he, nor his three sons ever heard the gunshot.
Police reports at the time indicated Reynolds "did not appear upset."
"He was just very calm, very matter of fact," said Detective Berry, "not excited at all."
Ron Reynolds has refused KOMO's requests for an interview.
In police reports, Ron Reynolds speculated he might not have heard the shot because "she had the door shut." But police reported they found the door wide open.
And in fact, the door couldn't have been shut, with the victim's body lying in the way, officers said.
And that wasn't the only red flag.
Another one was the position of the gun, which was found in her left hand, said Berry.
Ronda was shot just in front of her right ear. And she was right-handed. But the first officers on the scene reported the gun was in Ronda's left hand, inside a blanket.
"If Ronda was in fact right-handed, what was the gun doing in her left hand?" asked Berry.
Another oddity: No fingerprints on the weapon. "There should have been at least smudges somewhere on the gun, but there was nothing," said Berry. "It was clean."
Berry admits he and the department made mistakes which caused them to lose critical evidence. For instance, he wasn't allowed to interview the three Reynolds boys until two months after their mother's death. But he still thought the case could be solved.
"Every piece of circumstantial evidence screamed murder," he said.
Seven months after Ronda Reynold's death, Ron Reynolds' attorney wrote the department, insisting they remove the cloud of suspicion and close the case. "If you do not, then we will," he wrote.
Berry said the sheriff's office caved, closing the case as a suicide over his objections.
"They just basically wanted me to let it go, leave it as a suicide and move on and take on other cases and be done with it," Berry said.
Ron Reynolds took two polygraphs. The first one, two days after his wife's death, was initially found inconclusive. Another expert later reviewed the test and found Ron Reynolds was being deceptive.
Seven months later, Ron Reynolds' attorney arranged a second polygraph. In this one, the examiner found he was not attempting deception and another expert agreed.
That polygraph, and pressure from Ron Reynolds' attorney to close the case, convinced the Sheriff's office to do just that. Ronda Reynold's death was officially ruled a suicide.
Now that decision will be reviewed - for the first time in 11 years.
A Thurston County judge Friday ordered a jury to review all the evidence and listen to witnesses' testimony in the death of the ex-trooper, Ronda Reynolds, whose lifeless body was found in her closet with a gunshot wound to the head.
One year ago, KOMO News broke the investigation into Reynolds' death. A coroner had already ruled her death as a suicide, but Friday's ruling by Thurston County Superior Court Judge Richard Hicks' will take the case where no Washington court has ever been before.
In essence, the jury will answer the question: was it suicide, or was it murder? It's an outcome that Reynolds' mother, Barb Thompson, has been relentlessly fighting for since her daughter's death.
"My stomach was just jumping up and down," Thompson said after the ruling. "This is justice. And you know we're seeing that, in our day and time, justice really can be served."
Jury members will be allowed to review evidence and hear witnesses. The trial is tentatively set for Nov. 2, and it will be made up of jurors from Lewis County, where Reynolds was living at the time of her death. And the jury's decision could make history.
"I am so excited that the judge took the stand to allow all of the evidence that we have ... which is pretty overwhelming," Thompson said.
The case began in 1998 when Reynolds was found curled up on the floor of her bedroom closet with a handgun nearby after her husband called 911 to report his wife had killed herself.
While some believed her death to be a suicide, the Lewis County Sheriff's lead detective found serious inconsistencies. But in the end, the county coroner ruled Reynold's death a suicide.
However, Barb Thompson never believed her daughter killed herself; she believes something more sinister is at work.
And the heartbroken mother is not alone. KOMO News uncovered evidence and found experts who are convinced that what was ruled a suicide, was actually a heinous crime.
All believe authorities botched the investigation in calling it a suicide.
"It was a murder in 1998," said former detective Jerry Berry. "It's a murder today."
Berry believes the murder was set to look like suicide.
"That's a rearranged scene," said forensic pathologist Dr. Jeffrey Reynolds. "That's a staged scene."
Reynolds had been a state trooper and firearms instructor. She left the patrol to work in private security.
In early 1998, she married Ron Reynolds, an elementary school principal in the small Lewis County town of Toledo. In less than a year, the marriage collapsed. Her mother and close friends talked to her hours before she died and say she was discouraged, but far from suicidal.
"She had watched it come to a head," said Thompson. "She was ready for it and she was ready to move forward and make the best of it."
That night, Ronda Reynolds booked a flight to her mom's in Spokane. Scene photos show she'd packed her bags, and left a message to her husband on the bathroom mirror: "I love you, call me."
After midnight, she called friend and veteran police officer Dave Bell, asking him to pick her up the next morning to take her to the airport. When asked if there was any hint or indication of suicide, Bell is firm: "Nothing. Nothing, not even an inkling."
Within hours, Ronda Reynolds was found dead on the floor of her closet, underneath an electric blanket. She was shot through a pillow that covered her head.
"I believe she was murdered," the woman's mother said.
However, quoting from police reports, Ron Reynolds told investigators the day and night before her death, they "were talking about separating" and she'd been "talking about committing suicide."
Ron Reynolds said he'd tried to talk her out of it but eventually "fell asleep around 5" in the morning. He told police he woke at 6 when his "alarm went off" but that neither he, nor his three sons ever heard the gunshot.
Police reports at the time indicated Reynolds "did not appear upset."
"He was just very calm, very matter of fact," said Detective Berry, "not excited at all."
Ron Reynolds has refused KOMO's requests for an interview.
In police reports, Ron Reynolds speculated he might not have heard the shot because "she had the door shut." But police reported they found the door wide open.
And in fact, the door couldn't have been shut, with the victim's body lying in the way, officers said.
And that wasn't the only red flag.
Another one was the position of the gun, which was found in her left hand, said Berry.
Ronda was shot just in front of her right ear. And she was right-handed. But the first officers on the scene reported the gun was in Ronda's left hand, inside a blanket.
"If Ronda was in fact right-handed, what was the gun doing in her left hand?" asked Berry.
Another oddity: No fingerprints on the weapon. "There should have been at least smudges somewhere on the gun, but there was nothing," said Berry. "It was clean."
Berry admits he and the department made mistakes which caused them to lose critical evidence. For instance, he wasn't allowed to interview the three Reynolds boys until two months after their mother's death. But he still thought the case could be solved.
"Every piece of circumstantial evidence screamed murder," he said.
Seven months after Ronda Reynold's death, Ron Reynolds' attorney wrote the department, insisting they remove the cloud of suspicion and close the case. "If you do not, then we will," he wrote.
Berry said the sheriff's office caved, closing the case as a suicide over his objections.
"They just basically wanted me to let it go, leave it as a suicide and move on and take on other cases and be done with it," Berry said.
Ron Reynolds took two polygraphs. The first one, two days after his wife's death, was initially found inconclusive. Another expert later reviewed the test and found Ron Reynolds was being deceptive.
Seven months later, Ron Reynolds' attorney arranged a second polygraph. In this one, the examiner found he was not attempting deception and another expert agreed.
That polygraph, and pressure from Ron Reynolds' attorney to close the case, convinced the Sheriff's office to do just that. Ronda Reynold's death was officially ruled a suicide.
Now that decision will be reviewed - for the first time in 11 years.