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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Sirens & Gavels

Ann Rule’s new book has Spokane ties

Barb Thompson’s daughter, Ronda Reynolds, a former Washington State Patrol trooper, died of a gunshot wound to the head in 1998.  (Dan Pelle)
Barb Thompson’s daughter, Ronda Reynolds, a former Washington State Patrol trooper, died of a gunshot wound to the head in 1998. (Dan Pelle)

Ronda Reynolds graduated from Cheney High School in 1983 and enjoyed quick success as a State Patrol trooper in Western Washington.

But by 1998, her marriage was ending and she eagerly planned a trip to Spokane for Christmas to visit her mother and grandmother.  She bought a plane ticket and arranged a ride, but Reynolds, 33, (right) never arrived at the Spokane International Airport. She was found dead in her Toledo, Wash., home of a gunshot wound to the head. 

The Lewis County coroner ruled her death a suicide, but Reynolds’ mother, Spokane resident Barb Thompson, didn’t believe it. Thompson (pictured above) worked for years to get the case reopened, and in 2009, a Lewis County jury overturned the coroner’s decision.

Now one of the nation’s most prolific crime writers is telling the story.

Read my full story here.



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