By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – Warren McLeod is calling for a coroner’s inquest into the controversial 1998 death in Toledo of former state trooper Ronda Reynolds.
McLeod, the first new Lewis County coroner in almost three decades, said today it’s time.
“I believe after 12 years, this case needs a resolution,” McLeod said.
The purpose of a coroner’s inquest is to obtain an objective, non-partisan and independent opinion on the cause and manner of death in a public forum, according to McLeod.
McLeod has appointed Franklin County Coroner Dan Blasdel to facilitate the process.
Reynolds was found with a bullet in her head in a closet in her Toledo home in December 1998.
The case was closed by the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office as suicide despite protests by the lead detective, within a week after the attorney for her husband Ron Reynolds threatened to file a lawsuit if they didn’t cease the investigation.
Coroner Terry Wilson changed his determination three times in the following years as the sheriff’s office case was reopened and then closed again.
The case was the subject of a civil trial in November 2009 after which a panel of citizens concluded Coroner Wilson’s determination that Reynolds’ died of suicide was arbitrary, capricious and incorrect. Thurston County Superior Court Judge Richard Hicks ordered Wilson to change the manner of death, but Wilson instead appealed the order.
McLeod, elected in November, changed the death certificate to undetermined in his first days in the office.
He said a coroner’s inquest can be heard by a jury of as many as six and as few as four individuals. As coroner, he will preside over the proceedings.
The Lewis County Prosecutors Office will present the facts and circumstances of the case. McLeod said the prosecutor has agreed to participate.
McLeod said he will abide by the finding of the inquest jury.
The community college forensics instructor said he had two choices; either conduct the review himself behind closed doors or have it done in a public way.
He chose the latter as part of his objective of bringing more transparency to the coroner’ office, he said.
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter
When is the inquest likely to be held?
I really appreciate that he has listened to the community he’s serving. He saw the interest generated in the Ronda Reynolds case and pursued it and I hope that he continues to be genuinely interested in his new position and new/old cases. It seems like a common problem for publicly appointed officials to utterly forget what and who their jobs are meant to serve.