Coroner appeals judge's ruling in review of trooper's death
In a history-making verdict, a jury threw out the Lewis County coroner's ruling that former Trooper Ronda Reynolds committed suicide. But now that coroner is appealing the ruling.
Lewis County Coroner Terry Wilson was on a deadline after Judge Richard Hicks ordered him to change the cause of death on Reynolds' death certificate by next Monday.
But Wilson is instead asking the appeals court for an emergency stay, forcing Reynolds' mother back into court.
"It's overwhelming. It's just overwhelming," said Reynolds' mother, Barb Thompson.
When a Lewis County jury ruled unanimously that Reynolds likely did not commit suicide, it was a victory for her mother. She'd been fighting to get her daughter's death certificate changed for more than 10 years.
"(I'm) thankful. I put my trust and faith in the jury, and they didn't let me down," Thompson said.
A KOMO News investigation first unveiled new evidence in the case in 2008. And last month Judge Hicks ordered Wilson to change Reynold's death certificate.
 Lewis County Coroner Terry Wilson |
Thompson says Wilson's latest move has filled her with "anger and disappointment."
"At some point they're going to have to face the fact that my daughter was murdered," she said.
Thompson said Wilson's appeal can never take away the fact that a jury unanimously decided her daughter did not kill herself.
"They were angry over what this county has put me through, and they spoke very loud and clear. You can't deny that, and Terry Wilson can't make that go away," she said.
The appeals court will rule some time this week on the emergency stay. And if the court denies Wilson's request, he will still be forced to change the death certificate by Monday.
But the appeal itself could take much longer to sort itself out.