'My brother had tire tracks on his chest'
In tears and in the arms of loved ones, family members aired out their anger and devastation over the loss of 30-year-old Jerome Dumlao.
"Murderer! You killed my brother. He's not coming back," said one man.
"Murderer!" echoed another man.
Investigators believe Eric Murillo, 23, was drunk behind the wheel when he allegedly hit and killed Dumlao. Family members say Dumlao was crossing the street at the intersection of Bell Street and Western Avenue after a night out with friends when he was hit around 2:25 a.m. Sunday.
The victim's mother collapsed in the front row of the courtroom as the judge read the charges.
"We miss him so much. We can't sleep right now. Life is not normal," said the victim's brother, Jeff Dumlao.
Amid the heavy and palpable emotions of Dumlao's family members in court, Murillo's brother spoke up in the accused driver's defense.
"There is no evil in his heart," said Murillo's brother, pleading for leniency.
But police say Murillo hit Dumlao and then took off, turning the wrong way down a one-way street. Murillo was eventually caught, and then arrested and booked into the King County Jail.
Family members said Dumlao, a local FedEx driver, had gotten married last year and was hoping to start a family.
"We're all distraught about this. We're still in disbelief and shock," said Jeff Dumlao. "There's nothing that could be said that could ease the pain right now."
What's more, Dumlao's family members say the victim saw the car coming and tried to stop it before he was run over.
Because the driver fled the scene, the judge increased Murillo's bail to $500,000, citing him as a possible flight risk. His decision was met with applause from Dumlao's family members.
But as the family members spilled out into the hallway, their grief and anger overtook them.
"He (expetive) stopped and then ran my brother over! My brother had tire tracks on his chest," said Jeff Dumlao.
The victim leaves behind a wife, two siblings, and a mother, as well as a large extended family.