Screencap from KING 5 News’ coverage of the vigil
On March 8, more than 200 people came together at the King County Courthouse to hold a candlelight vigil to honor all victims and survivors of domestic violence. The annual event, organized by the Asian & Pacific Islander Safety Center along with CHAYA, is also aimed to reach out to the community to raise awareness about the prevalence of domestic violence. The theme of the event was,“Speaking Out and Building Strength.”
This vigil originally honored the deaths of Susana Remerata Blackwell, her unborn child, and two friends, Phoebe Dizon and Veronica Laureta, when her husband Timothy Blackwell opened fire while waiting for a divorce hearing in the King County Courthouse on March 2, 1995.
In addition, the event remembered two other deaths. On November 6, 2005, Bryan Christopher Matsen shot wife Evely Matsen and her 13-year-old son, Wahren Agonoy multiple times. (end)