Heraldnet.com
SATURDAY, JULY 4, 2009 9:42 pm
ADVERTISEMENT

LocalNorthwestNation & WorldPoliticsSpecial ReportsPhotosColumnistsMultimedia 
Blog
The Buzz
Why, governor?
Your town news
Kristi O'Harran
Columnist Kristi O'Harran writes about people in Snohomish County.
•Latest: This year, Poochapalooza is for dogs and dancers
Latest gallery

ForestFire Paintball
June 27. 2009 (10 photos)
[More Herald photos]
 
WEEK IN REVIEW
Friday
Armed man shot by deputies in Arlington
Police ID make of vehicle in fatal hit-and-run
Boeing's 6-month tally: 1 net order
Thursday


One fire rips through $2 million home, another ...
Swine flu claims 2nd victim in Snohomish County
Jetty Island firefight continues; hot weather ...
Wednesday


Fire District 1 negotiates to take over service...
Snohomish County population rising fast since 2...
Honey's owners indicted by feds
Tuesday


Mobile home tenants along Snohomish River told ...
Lincoln to leave Everett in 2013
Put on your sailor's cap and explore Naval Stat...
Monday


Disabled people will be left without a ride
You'll soon have 4,500 reasons to trade in that...
Pay hike deserved, Monroe chief says
Sunday


1,670 local students in county are without homes
Monroe's business gets done in secret
$9 million to be sought for U.S. 2 in federal t...
Saturday


Use of local parks spikes
Gay-friendly shift at 2 churches
Racist graffiti scrawled on cars in Everett nei...
 

ADVERTISEMENT

Local News   Print This Article  Email This Page  Subscribe Now! facebook digg reddit del.icio.us fark stumble

(click to enlarge)
HERALD STAFF PHOTO BY DARREN BREEN 051708 Playing cards with photographs of cold case victims issued to inmates to help solve the crimes, photographed Saturday May 17, 2008. King of Clubs Robyn Kenworthy.
 
ADVERTISEMENT

 
 
CONTACT THE HERALD
Robert Frank, City Editor
frank@heraldnet.com
 
Published: Sunday, June 22, 2008

Police seek clues in 20-year-old slaying

INDEX -- Robyn Kenworthy sounded worn out when she called her mom.

She wanted to come home. The 20-year-old needed a break from the streets and her on-again, off-again love affair with heroin. She planned to catch a bus on Aurora Avenue. Her mom never heard from her again.

Kenworthy's body was found Oct. 22, 1988 near Index. She was naked. Someone dumped her on a pile of brush. Investigators couldn't determine how she died.

In death, Kenworthy has returned on the king of clubs. She is part of the state's first set of cold-case playing cards. Snohomish County sheriff's detectives recently put the cards in jails to generate leads about unsolved slayings and missing persons cases that date back to the 1970s.

Detectives in the past aired suspicions that Kenworthy may have died at the hands of prolific serial killer Gary Ridgway. She fit the description of the women Ridgway hunted. Snohomish County detectives interviewed Ridgway after he admitted to killing 48 women in King County. He gave no hint that Kenworthy could be among his victims, sheriff's officials said.

Judy Kenworthy doesn't think she'll ever know who killed her child. Too many years have passed. Her daughter's drug addiction led her down a dark, twisted path littered with dealers, addicts and men who paid for sex. Those kind of people usually don't live long enough to give up their secrets, Judy Kenworthy said.

Still, she thinks about facing the killer one day. She knows what she would say.

"Do you know what you took from me? Do you know what you took from her grandparents? Do you know what you took from my son and stepdaughter?"

Her daughter was sensitive, beautiful and intelligent. She was great with kids and old people. She had a great sense of humor.

"She had a lot of potential that was thrown away," Judy Kenworthy said. "First by her and then by whoever killed her."



Reporter Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463 or hefley@heraldnet.com.


About this series

Snohomish County sheriff's detectives created the state's first deck of cold-case playing cards. Each Sunday for a year, The Herald will publish a story about a case featured on one of the cards. The 52 cards can be viewed on The Herald's Web site.

Anyone with information about unsolved homicides or missing persons cases is asked to call 800-222-TIPS (8477). Up to a $1,000 reward is offered. Tips also can be left on the sheriff's tip line at 425-388-3845. Callers may remain anonymous, although tips have been more successful when callers speak with detectives, police said.

1. Snohomish County man dies of swine flu
2. Lynnwood bank reprimanded by government
3. Police ID make of vehicle in fatal hit-and-run
4. Armed man shot by deputies in Arlington
5. IRS joins puppy mill investigation
6. Jetty Island ready for sand castles
7. Boeing's 6-month tally: 1 net order
8. Warriors & Patriots: Many American Indians served before getting full citizenship rights
9. Movin' out
10. Marshals seize swindler's home
Enterprise Newspaper Snohomish County Business Journal
Warriors looking for balance
Three Scots vying for QB slot
Jackson looks for another title
Decorated veteran continues to serve as active volunteer
City Council reviewing sign regulations
Wildcats get a peek at newcomers
Lynnwood still in rebuilding mode
Shoreline feels a kindergarten growth spurt
Leave the patriotic pyrotechnics to professionals, cities urge
The Enterprise Online Newspaper

TODAY'S TOP JOBS
 View All Top Jobs 
Top Cars
Top Homes


ADVERTISEMENT