Seattle Police have arrested a 52-year-old man in connection to the robbery of Irma Andrews in the Green Lake area last June. Andrews later died of head injuries that may have because of a fall during the robbery.
King County Prosecutors are now in the process of filing charges in five separate cases, relating to five victims linked to the suspect's crime spree dating back to February of last year. He faces two counts of Robbery in the First Degree, three counts of first-degree theft, residential burglary, possessing stolen property and forgery. Bail has been set at $1 million.
Andrews was mugged on June 9 last year. She was not examined for head injuries at the hospital. Later, her niece suspected a head injury after discovering her aunt had cracked dentures. Andrews died on August 26 from a brain hemorrhage.
Donohoe said his office would not be pursuing homicide charges against the suspect in the Andrews case.
On the morning of the incident, Andrews had just left a bank and was waiting at a bus stop. A man in a red car drove up and offered her a ride, claiming to be an employee with the bank. Andrews refused the ride and took a seat in a bus shelter along with several elderly men.
The suspect then approached Andrews and the others, attempting to lure one of them into his vehicle.
Andrews got up and walked away, turning her back to the suspect. He then knocked Andrews to the ground, grabbing her purse before fleeing. The attack left Andrews with a broken hip.
Three hours later Andrew's niece Linda Smith of Ballard called two department stores to cancel her aunt's credit cards. She learned the thief had already charged up to $2,000 in merchandise.
Seattle Police told Smith and her husband Tom it was only a matter of time before they caught the suspect.
A department store employee identified the suspect out of a police line-up after handling a transaction involving a stolen credit card.
Andrews was born in Delta, Colorado in 1915. She would have celebrated her 92nd birthday last December. Andrews worked as a seamstress for 45 years and was a member of the Eastern Star Masonic Lodge for 52 years.
Andrews would often walk to grocery stores on Roosevelt Way from her Green Lake home or take the bus to the Northgate Shopping Mall. "She was fiercely independent," said Tom Smith.
"We want to go to court to see what he looks like. We want to see what kind of rotten person would do this to people," said Tom Smith.
"It has taken its toll on us. She was as close to me as my mother. I just want to see justice from this," said Linda Smith.
Editor's note: The News-Tribune does not publish the name of suspects in criminal cases until they are charged with a crime.