Mother of Murdered Toddler Charged
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Weekend Edition Saturday, March 23, 2013 $1 Reaching 110,000 Readers in Print and Online — www.chronline.com 2013 Baseball & Rochester Invite Softball Preview Cody Triana Sweeps Hurdles / Sports 5 / Inside Mother of Murdered Toddler Charged Prosecutors Allege Centralia Woman’s Negligence Led to Her 2-Year-Old Daughter’s Death Last May By Kyle Spurr and Stephanie Schendel appearance Friday afternoon in James M. Reeder, was sentenced ecution had plans to charge He- [email protected] Lewis County Superior Court. to serve life in prison with a pos- upel, but waited until Reeder’s Becky Heupel, 30, pleaded sibility of parole after 37 years. case came to a close. [email protected] not guilty to the second-degree Reeder pleaded guilty to rape, as- “She is a victim too in the The mother of the 2-year-old mistreatment charge. sault and murder charges earlier sense that she lost her child,” girl who died last May as a re- Heupel will appear again in this year. Prosecutors allege that Meyer said. “We wanted to wait sult of being sexually and physi- Superior Court on April 11 for a prior to the child’s death, she was until after (Reeder’s) conviction.” cally tortured at the hands of the pretrial hearing. “systematically tortured” both Second-degree criminal Centralia woman’s boyfriend A trial date was set for June 10. physically and sexually. mistreatment alleges that a par- ent recklessly created an immi- Becky Heupel Koralynn Fister was charged with criminal mis- Her court appearance came Lewis County Prosecutor charged with killed by Heupel’s treatment during a brief court two weeks after her ex-boyfriend, Jonathan Meyer said the pros- please see CHARGED, page Main 12 mistreatment boyfriend Father Faces Charges for More Paws on the Ground Class Fund Theft CHARGED: The Husband of Woman in Charge of W.F. West Fundraising Accused of Writing Himself $8,200 Worth of Checks By Stephanie Schendel [email protected] A parent of a W.F. West High School student will face crimi- nal charges of theft and forgery for allegedly stealing $8,200 from the W.F West High School class of 2013 senior fund, ac- cording to the Chehalis Police Department. The husband of the woman in charge of the senior fund, a 43-year-old Chehalis man iden- tified as Robert N. Downs Jr., was referred to the Lewis Coun- ty Prosecutor’s Office for 14 counts of forgery and 14 counts of theft, according to the release. The money was taken from an account that is not directly Pete Caster / [email protected] affiliated with the school, said K-9 Reign barks while trying to get to his toy as Centralia Police Department Oicer Tracy Murphy holds the 17-month-old German shepherd and Belgian Malinois mix Chehalis School District Super- while the dog’s handler, Chehalis Police Department oicer Wayne Ayers, looks on during a training session at the Southwest Washington Fairgrounds on Wednesday intendent Ed Rothlin earlier this afternoon. Murphy, the former handler of Centralia K-9 Bak, is holding a 10-week training course for Ayers and Lewis County Sherif’s Deputy Rick Van Wyck, who has a week. For each graduating class 13-month-old purebred German shepherd named Axel. from the high school, parents set up a nonprofit account and raise money for a graduation event. BARK AND BITE: Two New K-9s Will Join Lewis County The funds are managed by a group of parents who begin rais- Law Enforcement Officers on Patrol This Spring ing money when the students By Stephanie Schendel new police dogs and are paying the an officer wouldn’t notice. On Wednesday, halfway are freshmen. Centralia Police Department to Police dogs are also a valu- During the investigation, po- [email protected] through their third week of have Officer Tracy Murphy, a for- able tool for officer protection lice learned that Downs Jr., the training at Southwest Washing- Two new local police K-9 mer K-9 handler, train both sets of and serve as a positive public re- husband of the woman who was ton Fairgrounds, the three men teams are currently in training dogs and handlers. lations tool for the department, loudly praised and whistled ev- in charge of the account, alleg- and will hit the streets later this edly signed 14 checks, ranging By the time the dogs are fully Murphy said. By the time their ery time the dogs behaved in the year, giving Lewis County law trained, they will be capable of 10-week training is over, the manner they wanted them to. in the amounts of $275 to $950, enforcement extra bark and bite. from June 2012 to September tracking and finding suspects dogs know how to track suspects To the dog, learning to catch Both the Chehalis Police De- 2012, according to the release. that would otherwise be un- and find evidence. In a year or bad guys is just a game, Murphy partment and the Lewis County traceable for a human. They will two, Murphy said he will train please see THEFT, page Main 12 Sheriff’s Office recently purchased also be able detect narcotics that them in narcotics detection. please see PAWS, page Main 12 The Chronicle, Serving The Greater Weather Raintree Nursery Theft Deaths Lewis County Area Since 1889 TONIGHT: Low 32 Bookkeeper Charged Merriman, Sandra Follow Us on Twitter TOMORROW: High 55 Sue, 74, Centralia @chronline Partly Cloudy With Stealing More Sweet III, Paul W., 70, see details on page Main 2 Than $12,000 From Oxnard Find Us on Facebook Raintree Nursery www.facebook.com/ Weather picture by thecentraliachronicle Joe Welch, Onalaska in Morton Elementary, 4th Grade / Main 4 MAKE FANTASTIC HAIR A FAMILY TRADITION. 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Most salons independently owned and operated. ©2013 Fantastic Sams Franchise Corporation www.FantasticSams.com Main 2 The Chronicle, Centralia/Chehalis, Wash., Saturday, March 23, 2013 COMMUNITY CALENDAR / WEATHER Community Editor’s Best Bet Dance Festival Northwest to Be Performed at Corbet Theatre Calendar The Southwest Washington of dance to the Lewis County Dance Center will host the 21st area. The Dance Ensemble has Today annual Dance Festival North- performed for audiences at the WHAT’S HAPPENING? west at 7 p.m. tonight at Centra- Lewis County Community Con- cert, “The Nutcracker,” North- Two Town Tuners If you have an event you lia College’s Corbet Theatre. would like included in the Dance Festival Northwest west Wind Symphony and the to Host Annual Community Calendar, please brings dance companies from Merce Cunningham Tribute. Barbershop Show email your information to around the Pacific Northwest to They have also danced at Dan- [email protected]. the Twin Cities area. cepalozza and other festivals in The Two Town Tuners annu- Include a daytime telephone The dancers take master Seattle. al barbershop show, “Celebrate number where you can be dance classes together as a group Visiting companies this Harmony,” will be held at 2:02 reached. and then each individual com- year include: Ballet Northwest, p.m. this afternoon and 7:02 p.m. For questions about pany performs dance pieces Olympia; Evergreen City Bal- tonight at the W.F. West High calendar items, call Doug they have prepared at the Corbet let, Renton; Four Stories Dance, School commons. Blosser at The Chronicle, (360) Theatre performance. This year, Chehalis/Seattle; Harbor Dance The event is in celebration of 807-8238. the master classes will be taught and Performance Center, Gig the Barbershop Harmony Soci- by Sara de Luis, teaching classi- Harbor; Johansen Olympia ety’s 75th anniversary. 931-6627 or email traistanand- cal Spanish technique, and Erica Dance Center/Ballet Northwest, Participants will include The [email protected]. Castro, teaching classical ballet Olympia; Studio West Dance Two Town Tuners Barbershop The Brownstone Coffee Lounge technique. Theatre, Olympia; Washington Chorus, Puget Sounders Bar- is located at 120 S. Tower Ave. There will be diverse forms Contemporary Ballet, University bershop Chorus, Olympia Sweet The Chehalis River Basin of dance performed, including Place; and host company South- Adelines Chorus, and the Com- Land Trust is a not-for-profit classical ballet, innovative con- west Washington Dance Ensem- temporary ballet, creative mod- ble, Chehalis. mon Cents, Midas Touch, Four- organization that helps land- ern and contemporary dance Tickets are available online Tune Tellers and Nitelife quartets. owners in the basin protect the and dynamic jazz. at at www.swwdance.org, at the Admission for the matinee is conservation values of their The host company, under Southwest Washington Dance $7, with children under 12 free. property into perpetuity. Evening admission is $10 for all the direction of Castro, artistic Center, 455 N. Market Blvd., ages. Refreshments are included. director, is the Southwest Wash- Chehalis; and at the door. Ad- Tickets are available at Cor- Onalaska Dinner, ington Dance Ensemble, Cheha- mission is $15 for adults, and $10 win Insurance Agency, 1307 lis.