An 80-year-old great-grandmother who was a Seattle neighborhood dog walker was killed Tuesday morning in a carjacking, police said. She had been struggling to defend several dogs.
Just before 10 a.m., dog walker Ruth Dalton had been in her car in the Madison Valley neighborhood when a man jumped into the passenger side. He tried to push her out, but Dalton fought back. The car rolled onto a grassy area during the struggle, the Seattle Police Department said at a press conference Wednesday.
Bystanders and nearby drivers tried to intervene. A man approached the vehicle but backed away when the suspect pulled out a knife, according to Deputy Chief Eric Barden. When the man returned with a bat or stick, the suspect had already forced Dalton out and driven off, hitting two parked vehicles and Dalton in the process.
When officers arrived, a bystander was performing CPR on Dalton, but she was declared dead at the scene.
Barden said the attack was random and that Dalton was "well-loved" by the community.
"This is a tragic and horrific incident," Barden said. “[Dalton was] participating vibrantly in her community ... that was snatched from her and from her family and her friends and the community by virtue of this senseless violence.”
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At least two dogs were in the vehicle at the time of the carjacking and when the suspect drove off, with one belonging to Dalton.
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Around 3 p.m. that day, Seattle Animal Control officers responded to a report that someone was hurting a dog in Brighton Playfield, about five miles from the carjacking, police said.
They found Dalton's dog stabbed to death in a recycling bin, according to the Seattle Police Department blotter. The stolen car was found nearby.
The suspect was later identified as Jahmed K. Haynes, 48, who was arrested by a SWAT team near his residence Wednesday morning. Police had found him based on a fingerprint on Dalton's phone. At the time of arrest, Haynes was found with a bloody knife and keys to Dalton's vehicle.
Barnes said Haynes has eight prior criminal convictions and a "history of mental health concerns." He is now in custody at King County Jail and faces charges of first-degree murder and first-degree animal cruelty.
