Body found in Seattle's Discovery Park near trail

November 24, 2003

From KING Staff Reports

SEATTLE - Seattle Police on Monday were investigating a possible homicide in Discovery Park, a popular park located in

The crime scene was a disturbing site in the park, which is a favorite with joggers and families. Discovery Park is a large park, almost a square mile in size, and includes the Fort Lawton military station and several hiking trails.

Seattle's Magnolia neighborhood.

Police say after they received an initial phone call saying there was a body somewhere in the park, then someone then led officers specifically to the spot where the body was found.

Police quick to point out that they do not believe this was a random act of violence. They believe the woman was not killed inside the park, but her body was hidden there.

KING
Police blocked off Discovery Park early Monday after a body of a woman was discovered Sunday midnight.
Detectives were questioning two people, one of them considered a suspect in the woman's death.

Police marked off the trailhead leading into the park in the early Monday morning hours, but were waiting until daylight hours to fully investigate the crime scene. Police did not release details about how the woman died.

Discovery Park is a large park, almost a square mile in size, and includes the Fort Lawton military station and several hiking trails.

RELATED STORY:

Body of teenage girl found in Discovery Park
10:32 PM PST on Monday, November 24, 2003

By ELISA HAHN / KING 5 News

SEATTLE – A teenage girl’s body was found Sunday night in Discovery Park near Emerson Street in Seattle’s Magnolia neighborhood and two other teenagers have been arrested for killing her.

Police marked off the trailhead leading into the park in the early Monday morning hours, but were waiting until daylight hours to fully investigate the crime scene.

Police have not yet released the victim’s name, but they believe she is a girl in her early to mid-teens.

Police said they were acting on a tip when they searched an area near the 3-mile loop trail.

KING
Police found the body after receiving a tip.
"We received a report from a civilian that a homicide had occurred and that the body had been dumped in Discovery Park,” said Deanna Nollette, Seattle Police.

Monday night, two teenagers were arrested for the murder – a 16-year-old female and a 19-year-old male who was convicted of theft and pleaded guilty to attempted theft and robbery last year.

"Our investigation shows all the parties know each other. The two suspects were acquainted with the victim. It was in no way a random crime. There was a pre-existing relationship there,” said Nollette.

In the early morning hours Monday, detectives searched the crime scene and the victim’s body was taken to the Medical Examiner’s Office who is checking the victim’s fingerprints for identification.

Police are not ready to name a motive. The Medical Examiner’s Office hopes to release the name of the victim on Tuesday.

The crime scene was a disturbing site in the park, which is a favorite with joggers and families.

Discovery Park is a large park, almost a square mile in size, and includes the Fort Lawton military station and several hiking trails.