(added 12:56 pm, :30 from this morning’s hearing; this courtroom has glass between defendants and spectators/media)
We are at the King County Jail, where 46-year-old Duane Starkenburg has just pleaded not guilty to an assault charge stemming from the Lincoln Park jogger attack first reported here yesterday afternoon. Because of his criminal history, as noted in our story from last night, the judge agreed with the city’s request to set his bail at $25,000. His lawyer says Starkenburg just accidentally tripped the victim and tried to apologize, “but she sprinted off.” Also defending him, in a brief interview outside the courtroom with us and multiple TV news crews, his mother Lois Starkenburg, who said her Army-veteran son, currently unemployed, wouldn’t do something like that. His next hearing is set for early February; if he does post bond, he is under orders to stay away from the victim – “I don’t know her,” he assured the judge – and out of Lincoln Park. As for other charges, that will be up to city and county lawyers to review; right now, he is charged only in connection with what happened yesterday, though a similar recent incident was mentioned briefly when the city was arguing for the $25,000 bail.
Side note that we discovered while researching this story; the family is connected to a tragic crime that made regional news 20 years ago. Duane Starkenburg’s parents, longtime West Seattleites, are also the parents of Kimberly Starkenburg, shot dead in 1990 in a multiple-shooting case for which an already-convicted killer named Charles Corliss was found guilty. That case was NOT discussed in the courtroom – it came up while we were researching Duane Starkenburg’s background last night.
Back to this case: The judge allowed video in the courtroom and we will add ours as soon as we are back at headquarters.
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