Seattle, WA
Seattle’s first homicide of 2026 is a case that began more than 50 years ago
SEATTLE – In 1973, a 19-year-old man was shot near Garfield High School, a tragedy that left him paralyzed for the rest of his life. The medical examiner has now officially ruled his recent death a homicide — a rare “delayed death” directly linked to those decades-old injuries.
Prosecutors say the case is legally closed because the suspects are now dead. Still, it raises a question: What happens to cases that don’t end with an arrest?
Local perspective:
Detective Rolf Norton has dedicated his career to finding answers in cases many assume are over. Norton refuses to call them “cold cases.” He insists they are not forgotten or “sitting on the shelf collecting dust.”
For Norton, they are not over — just unfinished.
Norton has been with Seattle police for 31 years, including the past 24 in homicide.
What they’re saying:
“There is no greater mission working homicides is what I wanted to do when I first got hired,” Norton said.
Waking up every day, he said, is easy. The challenge, fulfillment, significance and importance are why he doesn’t hesitate when he talks about murder investigations.
“There is no other crime that comes to the level of homicide. It’s the Fifth Commandment; it’s the foundation of society. It begins and ends with ‘We won’t kill each other,’ and to be tasked with investigating those crimes is really a great honor,” Norton said.
A Seattle native and graduate of the University of Washington, Norton worked as a legal assistant for the King County Prosecutor’s Office before being hired by Seattle police in 1994, when the city had about 500,000 residents.
“Flash me back to 1994 — I take a look, and then take the blindfold off. In 2026, I’ll look around, and I won’t recognize it,” Norton said.
Policing has changed, too — no body cameras then, no doorbell cameras, and certainly no security footage on every block.
“If the Green River Killer had been active in 2026 instead of 1983, we would have had him after number one or number two, because we would have had him on camera,” Norton said, referring to the serial killer who terrorized the region in the 1980s.
Dig deeper:
DNA technology has also evolved dramatically over the past two decades, from limited testing in the late 1990s to breakthroughs in genetic genealogy that help identify suspects decades later.
“In the past, it’s been more about, ‘We have this result. What can we do with it? How can we interpret it? How can we make it better?’ Now it’s — we go back to the start, starting from scratch. It’s crazy, and I’m excited with the optimism that all this brings,” Norton said.
Even with new tools, not every case has an ending.
“I’m on a one-person mission to change the vernacular. I can’t stand the word ‘cold case,’” Norton said. “I don’t call them cold cases because I’m working them.”
He says they are not binders that have sat untouched for decades at the bottom of a vault.
“If you walked into my office, I probably have 100 case files, and they’re all piled up in a very organized manner for me,” Norton said.
These are not just files — they are the names of someone’s loved one. Norton says he takes them home mentally and, at times, physically.
“There’s been some cases where I’ve printed out the original follow-up that the initial detectives produced, and have left them at every sleeping area in my house, and sometimes just pick it up and start reading saying, ‘What did I miss?’” Norton said.
Why you should care:
One of the cases he has carried for a decade is the killing of 14-year-old Tanya Frazier, who was kidnapped, sexually assaulted and murdered in 1994. An arrest was finally made last year, more than 30 years later.
“I’m pleased we got to where we are today, that we have made an arrest, but the process isn’t done,” Norton said.
Another case is “Baby Boy Doe,” found dead in November 1997 in a north Seattle gas station trash can after his mother delivered him and left him to die. Despite police sharing images of the mother walking toward the restroom, the case remained unsolved for years.
“I come to the photos of Baby Doe in a garbage can and it’s mind-blowing. Frankly, it’s life-changing, you see something that you immediately want to file away and never go back to, but you can’t because you have a job, a mission, and no one is looking out for baby doe, except for us,” Norton said, describing the crime scene photos publicly for the first time.
The mother, Christine Warren, was convicted in January 2023, but for years many believed the case would never be solved.
“It’s important to know that this child wasn’t forgotten,” said Casey McNerthney of the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
McNerthney said the same goes for the case of Joseph Garrett, even though it cannot be prosecuted.
Garrett was 19 when, according to a brief three-paragraph article in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, he was shot in the shoulder during a fight with another teen near Garfield High School. The bullet lodged in his spine, paralyzing him.
“It’s encouraging to see that Ralph Norton would see how police was on top of this one,” McNerthney said. “Many of the cases that people assume aren’t being looked at are actually on his desk.”
He also offered a warning.
“If somebody thinks they’ve gotten away with it because it’s a few years, or even a few decades in the past, they’re wrong. If you never know when that knock on the door will come, and at some point it will come,” McNerthney said.
For families, he added, time feels different.
“We know that for the surviving family members in these cases, every day is like the day they found out,” McNerthney said.
Norton acknowledges that being the face of that pain is not easy.
“You’re the face of the worst thing that ever happened to them and the family members, and you don’t always have good news,” Norton said.
When asked how he moves forward in each case knowing many remain unsolved for families, Norton said, “I think you need to focus on the process and not the result, and you need to be cognizant of what you can address today.”
The odds are not always in his favor.
“It’s tough. These cases are unsolved not because of a lack of effort. They’re unsolved because they’re difficult,” Norton said.
When asked what he would say to families still waiting for answers, Norton did not pause.
“I remember, we remember, I won’t quit. We won’t quit,” Norton said.
Norton has reviewed more than 600 unsolved cases dating from 1907 to 2020. During a recent interview, he shared a list of 13 names — cases for which he is the lead detective and continues to update families.
He is waiting for DNA technology to keep improving, hoping it will one day give families closure. While he does not promise resolutions, he wants families to know their loved ones are not far from his reach.
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The Source: Information in this story comes from original reporting by FOX 13 Seattle reporter Alejandra Guzman.
SEATTLE — October 25, 2006. April 18, 2008. May 15, 2013.
March 25, 2026?
Those dates on the calendar — three in the past, one still yet to come — represent four seminal moments in the history of NBA franchise stability as it relates to Seattle.
The first three are dates fans of the green and gold would rather forget.
The first was the day Clay Bennett’s purchase of the SuperSonics was approved by NBA owners. The second, the day his relocation request to move the franchise from Seattle to Oklahoma City was given the OK, prior to the lawsuit and subsequent settlement that finally allowed the organization to bolt.
And the last was the day Chris Hansen’s efforts to purchase and relocate the Sacramento Kings were thwarted and voted down by the league.
Three moments that went to define the opinion of the NBA in the minds of many sports fans in the Pacific Northwest.
But that last date — Wednesday — might end up being a date that gets circled and remembered in a different light. The NBA Board of Governors will wrap up two days of meetings in New York on Wednesday with the expectation that the league’s owners will give the green light to start conversations with interested ownership groups who want to bring expansion franchises to Seattle and Las Vegas.
After years of posturing, and fits and starts, the return of the NBA to Seattle has never felt closer. But there are significant questions that remain. Here’s a look at a few of them with Wednesday’s meeting on the horizon.
Is this real or just another tease?
It sure seems real.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver set the stage for what seems likely to happen next when he unexpectedly announced at the NBA Cup that expansion was going to be addressed sometime in 2026.
What comes from the meetings Tuesday and Wednesday is expected to be a vote of approval from the league’s owners allowing Silver to start holding substantive talks with potential ownership groups in Seattle and Las Vegas that could lead to a vote for expansion approval later this year. For the initial vote and for the final approval, 23 of the league’s 30 owners must vote in favor for approval.
Industry sources have told the Seattle Times that the buzz during All-Star weekend in Los Angeles last month was momentum quickly growing behind the thought that expansion was going to take place. With word emerging earlier this week of the pending vote, it would seem highly unlikely for that kind of information to leak without an expectation that a vote of approval is coming and would allow Silver to start the real conversations.
Assuming that approval comes, the next few months will be filled with conversations and negotiations, and ultimately a final decision on whether to formally expand or not. The vote for that could come as soon as the NBA Summer League owners’ meeting that’s held in Las Vegas in July. If there are delays or hiccups in the talks, the vote on formal expansion could be pushed to the annual BOG meeting held in September. Either way, as long as the vote is sometime this year and the league gives the thumbs up, the expansion franchise should be able to start in time for the 2028-29 season.
Is this going to become a bidding war?
That is one of the significant unknowns about how many parties are going to get involved in the bidding. To date, the only group locally to express their interest in pursuing expansion once the league gives the green light is the Kraken ownership group. They have decided advantages over any other group as a stakeholder in Climate Pledge Arena and the owner of the primary tenant that uses the facility. But questions remain about who all would be involved in any sort of investment group that would put forth a bid. To date, there have been behind-the-scenes conversations, but reserved public-facing campaigning by the Kraken group in jockeying for the lead position.
That has created a little bit of that uncertainty about whether another group could swoop in and get involved. The NBA likely wouldn’t mind that. The more groups, the more demand. The more demand, the more likely the expansion fee could be pushed upward.
Does the Seahawks sale factor into all of this?
Just like with the question about the bidding war, the fact the Super Bowl champions are for sale and in the same market adds a wrinkle to the situation around the NBA. The primary figures in each situation are likely committed to staying in their lanes — the folks who will be providing most of the money in the pursuit of each franchise likely should not change. But the money that comes in on the fringes could be a little in flux. Ultimately, it’s a small piece of the much larger pie.
The higher likelihood is whoever is committed at this point to being financially involved in either potential transaction isn’t changing.
What about the Sonics history?
Should this continue in the direction it seems to be heading, yes, the history of the SuperSonics would return to the expansion franchise. That was part of the settlement agreed to when the team moved to Oklahoma City in 2008 — when a team returned to the market, the 41 years of history that accompanied the Sonics time in Seattle would be reinstated and no longer claimed by the Thunder franchise.
Many of the stars of the past — Gary Payton, Shawn Kemp to name a pair — have stated they did not want their past accomplishments in Seattle recognized by the Thunder franchise.
What’s the Vegas angle to all this?
Nine months ago, the momentum behind Las Vegas wasn’t dead, but it certainly had quieted significantly. There was uncertainty about possible ownership groups, including whether LeBron James’ longstanding want to be involved with a Vegas expansion team was still there. There were major questions about the arena situation and if T-Mobile Arena — home of the NHL’s Golden Knights — would be the home of an NBA team as well or if a new building would be in the offering.
Clearly a couple of those questions have been answered. There appear to be at least two ownership groups positioned to be involved in the bidding, although the most prominent name linked to team ownership there seems to be out. The Athletic first reported and James later confirmed that he and his partners with Fenway Sports Group would not be involved in the bidding process for a Las Vegas franchise.
The other two groups, per reporting from the Las Vegas Review-Journal, are a group that includes Magic Johnson and another that includes Golden Knights owner Bill Foley.
The arena … well that remains perhaps the biggest unknown in Sin City. The NBA has indicated upgrades to T-Mobile Arena might be good enough to satisfy needs. But the building is already home to the Golden Knights, UFC and concerts, and there are valid concerns about congestion and potentially a viable path toward a new building. Whether a building could be ready in two years should the reported 2028-29 timeline be applied to both teams is unknown.
Seattle – The weekend brought a much-needed break from the rainy atmospheric river. We enjoyed a mainly sunny and dry sky. Monday will see a few more clouds around the area ahead of our next rainmaker, which is forecast to arrive on Tuesday.
After enjoying a dry an mainly sunny weekend, more clouds will move inland throughout the day Monday.
Grab an extra layer on Monday morning as morning lows will be chilly, near freezing in some spots. Partly cloudy and slightly cooler in the afternoon with highs near 50.
Afternoon highs remain cool to start the week.
After the latest atmospheric river sent snow levels up near 8000 and 9000 feet, much of the beneficial snow we picked up was melted. This next round of will lower snow levels back down, where a light dusting of snow is forecast to fall.
Cooler air will force snow levels to lower beginning on Tuesday with a light dusting of snow.
Winds will be gusty next week when the next system arrives on Tuesday. Some spots may see gusts nearing 45 mph.
Gusty winds picking up on Tuesday with speeds nearing 45 mph.
Hard to believe, but the new season of Mariners baseball starts this Thursday. The home open is looking good so far with an even nicer weekend ahead.
Lowland rain and mountain snow early in the week with a dry weekend ahead.
With spring training wrapping up and opening day just a few days away, the Seattle Mariners continued to whittle down their roster on Sunday.
Drayer: Mariners to go with Garver as backup catcher
The Mariners optioned catcher Jhonny Pereda, right-handed reliever Cole Wilcox and right-handed reliever Yosver Zulueta to Triple-A Tacoma. They also re-assigned first baseman/outfielder Connor Joe and infield prospect Brock Rodden to minor league camp.
The Mariners’ spring training roster is now at 31 players.
Pereda, 29, was acquired from the Minnesota Twins for cash in January. He was brought in to compete for Seattle’s backup catcher role, but Mariners insider Shannon Drayer reported earlier Sunday that veteran Mitch Garver will break camp as Cal Raleigh’s backup. Pereda batted .200 in 25 Cactus League at-bats this spring.
Wilcox, 26, flashed potential this spring after he was acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays for cash last November. He struck out 11 batters across 8 1/3 innings in eight Cactus League appearances, while allowing four runs, six hits and four walks. Mariners manager Dan Wilson said earlier this month that “his stuff has been tremendous” and he “has opened some eyes.”
Zulueta, 28, struck out 10 batters across seven innings in eight Cactus League appearances, while allowing three runs, six hits and three walks. He was acquired from the Cincinnati Reds in a January trade.
Joe, 33, signed a minor league contract with Seattle in February. The six-year MLB veteran had a strong spring, batting .362 with one home run, one triple and six doubles in 47 Cactus League at-bats.
Rodden, 25, is ranked by MLB Pipeline as the Mariners’ No. 18 prospect. A 2023 fifth-round draft pick out of Wichita State, Rodden hit .361 with two homers, one triple and one double in 36 Cactus League at-bats.
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