(Family photo of Greggette Guy during a hike, 2004)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Today marks exactly six months since Greggette Guy was found dead off the 3700 block of Beach Drive – the second, and most recent, West Seattle murder victim of 2012.

Police have yet to find her killer(s).

Her family, however, has found a way to honor her memory, via her lifelong involvement with Girl Scouts – from childhood through parenthood:

That’s some of the new information we have obtained for this update on the case, half a year later, after speaking with Mrs. Guy’s husband as well as with police.

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As first reported by Beach Drive Blog yesterday, Seattle Police have finally set the date for the Beach Drive safety walk they have been promising. Southwest Precinct Operations Lt. Pierre Davis has just confirmed that the safety walk will be at 6:30 pm next Friday, June 1st. He explains, “This will be an opportunity for police, other city agencies and the Alki /Beach Drive community to partner, walk and discuss crime prevention topics and strategies relating to their neighborhood. We will muster at Emma Schmitz Park and canvas a portion of Beach Drive, completing our walk at Me Kwa Mooks Park.” The area, of course, has been under scrutiny since the as-yet-unsolved murder of 51-year-old Greggette Guy in March, whose car was found at Emma Schmitz, across from Me-Kwa-Mooks, where her family says she had gone to take a walk the night before her body was found in the water half a mile north. In the weeks since, Seattle Parks has cleared some of the shrubbery blocking street visibility at the viewpoint, and Parks Superintendent Christopher Williams has spoken to the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council about overall park safety.

Tonight for the first time since the murder of 51-year-old Greggette Guy along Beach Drive in West Seattle, we are hearing from her widower, Dwight Guy. He spoke on-camera with Q13 FOX News‘s “Washington’s Most Wanted” anchor/reporter David Rose, who sent us word of their followup, plus the news that the family is now offering a $10,000 reward. Q13’s video clips aren’t embeddable, so we can’t show it to you here, but we can point you to this page on their website to see their story with part of the interview; they’re promising more on their next edition of WMW this weekend. Six weeks have now passed since Ms. Guy’s body was found in the water south of Cormorant Cove Park, hours after she parked her car a half-mile south at Emma Schmitz Viewpoint Park, where police have said they believe she was murdered. Dwight Guy tells Q13 FOX in the interview that he reported her missing hours before she was found dead, after realizing that something might be wrong because she hadn’t come home. If you have information about the case, call 800-222-TIPS, or 911. (Our archived coverage of the case is here.)

ADDED THURSDAY AFTERNOON: Beach Drive Blog reports that a bench in Ms. Guy’s memory will be installed at Emma Schmitz park next week. MONDAY UPDATE: Turns out the bench that’s being installed is in memory of someone else, and BDB has corrected their story.

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

One month ago tonight, someone killed 51-year-old Greggette Guy of Kent in her long-ago hometown, West Seattle.

She was found dead in the water off Beach Drive the morning of March 12th, declared by police later that week to have been a victim of murder.

They have not yet arrested anyone, nor are they commenting on progress of the investigation. At last night’s Admiral Neighborhood Association meeting, Community Police Team Officer Ken Mazzuca was asked if he had heard anything new; no, he said, adding that Homicide Division detectives are “keeping things close” on the case. He and Crime Prevention Coordinator Mark Solomon, who had accompanied him to the meeting to discuss unrelated issues, stressed that police are still eager to hear any information that might lead to a break in the case.

That is echoed by Ms. Guy’s family. We asked their spokesperson, her brother-in-law Dennis Guy – who first contacted us last month with news of the memorial fund – if they had anything to say for this story. He e-mailed us back:

A month has passed since we lost our beloved Greggette Guy and we are still coping with the void that her loss has left. We appreciate the support the West Seattle community has given. The police are still investigating and would appreciate any information that residents could provide.

Memorial fund information is included on the two websites:

http://www.eycfc.com/sitemaker/sites/Edline1/obit.cgi?user=595115Guy#

greggetteguymemorial.home.comcast.net

We are still collecting information on placing an additional reward.

(WSB photo from Emma Schmitz Viewpoint, March 20th)
While Seattle Parks has done work on visibility issues at Emma Schmitz Viewpoint – where police believe Ms. Guy was killed, and where they found her car the day they found her body half a mile away – police acknowledge that concerns remain. Southwest Precinct Operations Lt. Pierre Davis confirms they will be organizing community walks in the area (no dates/times announced yet).

And acting Parks Superintendent Christopher Williams is coming to West Seattle next week to talk about safety issues to discuss safety and security at park and recreation facilities in the West Seattle area,” according to the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council, which will feature Williams at their monthly meeting next Tuesday (7 pm April 17th, SW Precinct meeting room).

In the meantime, if you have any information that might help police investigating Greggette Guy’s murder, here’s the CrimeStoppers poster with information, one more time, same one you’ve seen on utility poles and in business windows:

WSB coverage of this case is all archived here, newest-to-oldest.

Two and a half weeks after 51-year-old Greggette Guy, a former West Seattleite, was found dead in the water off Beach Drive, there is still no word of a break in the murder case, though we inquired with police again today. The last public statement about the case came eight nights ago, when Southwest Precinct commander Capt. Steve Paulsen spoke to the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting (here’s our coverage, with video of what he said). Beach Drive residents, meantime, continue to note increased police visibility, and Beach Drive Blog is advocating for more lighting (here’s their latest report).

And today, we heard again from Ms. Guy’s brother-in-law, who contacted us last Friday once they set up a memorial fund (here’s our story from that night). Dennis Guy offered information for donating at bank branches; we asked if they were also setting up a way to donate online, and now, they have accomplished that:

A web page has been created with the Memorial Fund information: Go to greggetteguymemorial.home.comcast.net.

A memorial fund has been set up in Greggette’s name. The fund will be used to erect a memorial, if permitted, at the park where she died and/or to add to the reward for information about her death. If you wish to donate, please use one of the donation options below.

Donation Options:
1. Go to any Bank of America and make a deposit in the account with the following details:

Name on Account: Dwight K. Guy
Account Number: 138100402807

2. For existing PayPal users, please use the Send Money tab on your PayPal page to send a personal gift to greggetteguymemorialfund@gmail.com. This will avoid any fees.

3. For those without an existing PayPal account and wishing to donate electronically, please click on the Donate button on the website.

Thank you to those that have donated so far.

Our coverage of the case is archived (in reverse chronological order) here. If you have any information that might be related to the case, call 911 or the Seattle Police Homicide Tip Line, 206-233-5000 (police say anonymous tips are welcome).

We’re hearing tonight from the family of 51-year-old Greggette Guy for the first time since her father’s unexpected appearance at last Sunday’s vigil in her memory.

On the eve of her memorial service, her brother-in-law Dennis Guy has reached out on behalf of her family. His message:

There seems to be a lot of interest for helping Greggette Guy’s family and we would like to respond. We established a fund for the purpose of providing financial funds for the following purposes:

(1) increasing the amount of reward money for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of the suspect(s) responsible for the murder of Greggette Guy

(2) and/or assisting the city in installing additional lighting and/or memorial bench along the area where the crime took place

We are thankful to the West Seattle Blog for providing information to the community and are sorry that we were not able to provide information due to personal and investigative reasons. We echo the thoughts of some of the (commenters) that speculation, especially insensitive ones, should be kept to oneself as they can be especially hurtful at a time such as this. Greggette Guy had lived in the West Seattle area for a few years when she was younger and enjoyed the serenity and the waves of the Alki Beach area.

We are thankful to the media for respecting the family’s privacy in this time of need as a result of this tragic event.

The link for more information about who Greggette Guy really is:and how to make contributions:
http://www.edlineyahncovingtonfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/Edline1/obit.cgi?user=595115Guy

Sincerely,
Dennis Guy

The page at that link includes Ms. Guy’s full obituary, with much more about her life than we have heard before, as well as information on where/how to donate to the fund. Meantime – police have not commented publicly on the case since Southwest Precinct commander Captain Steve Paulsen spoke at last Tuesday’s West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting (video of everything he said is in our report from that night). If you have any information that might be related to the case, call 911 or the Seattle Police Homicide Tip Line, 206-233-5000 (police say anonymous tips are welcome). Our coverage of stories about Ms. Guy’s murder, dating back to the discovery of her body the morning of March 12th, is archived here, newest to oldest.

In the foreground, flowers and a candle, almost certainly a tribute to murder victim Greggette Guy; in the background, trimmings from plants along Emma Schmitz Viewpoint, where her car was found, after her body was found a half-mile north, eight days ago. Though this comes as safety concerns have been raised (and replied to), Parks Department spokesperson Karen O’Connor tells WSB that some of the pruning “is work that is normally done during this time of the year,” but she added there’s something extra: “To improve visibility into the lower plaza area, we are removing 3 large clumps of Escallonia. We are waiting for the backhoe to come it to complete that work.”

As of about 2 pm, when we took that photo of an escallonia shrub with a white line painted onto its east side (and the blue letters “OK” on the grass below), that work hadn’t happened yet, but O’Connor mentioned they were hoping the weather would calm a bit.

Meantime, we expect to hear something about the case at tonight’s West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting, to which the public is welcome – 7 pm at the Southwest Precinct meeting room (entrance is from the parking lot along Webster, west of Delridge). Last night at an otherwise-unrelated neighborhood meeting in Arbor Heights, SW Precinct Sgt. Joe Bauer, asked about the case, reiterated that SPD was pouring “resources” into getting it solved.

On a more personal note about Ms. Guy, we have learned that her memorial service is planned for this Saturday at a funeral-home chapel in Kent. A little more about her apparent West Seattle connections has emerged, as well; if you saw our report on Sunday night’s vigil, you heard her father mention having walked with her on Beach Drive many a time. We have heard from multiple sources that she and her family lived here at some point in childhood – she is reported to have attended Fairmount Park Elementary (now in its fifth year of closure). Again, here’s the flyer that’s been distributed:

Police want to hear from anyone with any bit of information that might help the investigation, no matter how small.

(Photos and video by WSB co-publisher Patrick Sand)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Against a heartbreakingly beautiful sunset – half the sky and water shimmering pink, the other half under dark storm clouds – more than 75 people gathered as a tribute to murder victim Greggette Guy, and a declaration that they would not be frightened away from one of West Seattle’s most beautiful places.

Seattle Police detectives were there too, low-key, in plainclothes, talking to people away from the crowd, still seeking anyone who might have seen something a week ago tonight.

And then there was someone no one expected – interrupting the moment of silence after participants had walked the length of Emma Schmitz Memorial Overlook and back, identifying himself as Ms. Guy’s father Gregg Smith:

The safety concerns he voiced were top of mind for those who organized tonight’s walk and vigil on just hours’ notice, as well as those who came to join in:

Organizers circulated a sign-up sheet so that residents could find people to walk with in the days and weeks ahead, so no one would have to take a risk alone. Here’s what organizers, starting with nearby resident Judy Bentley, told participants; our video continues for 3 minutes as the walk begins:

Police have said they believe that Ms. Guy came to the Beach Drive shore a week ago for a walk, perhaps that same stretch of shore. Last Monday morning, a Beach Drive resident saw her body in the water near Harbor West Condos, the complex built in pilings over the water, and called 911. With boats and divers, public-safety crews brought it to shore (WSB coverage here); within hours, they described the death as “suspicious,” but it was not publicly declared a case of murder until last Thursday (WSB coverage here).

As evidenced by their presence tonight – and the flyers on every utility pole – police remain eager to hear anything you think might be relevant to the case. Here’s a closer look, if you haven’t seen the flyers in person:

Though not much has been said about Ms. Guy, 51, online research indicates she had been married for 30 years, with a 21-year-old daughter, and had long been employed by a South King County aviation-industry firm as a credit manager.

(Scroll down for tonight’s newest info)

(Monday photo by WSB co-publisher Patrick Sand)
2:32 PM: Three days after a woman was found dead in the water off Beach Drive, near Cormorant Cove Park – as covered here extensively on Monday – Seattle Police finally have announced that it’s being investigated as a murder case.

We have checked daily since then, and until this afternoon, they would only characterize it as a “death investigation.” But now, here’s what police are saying:

Seattle Police are asking the public for assistance in an active homicide investigation. On March 12th at approximately 7:30 a.m. a citizen reported seeing a body floating in Puget Sound approximately 30 feet off-shore of the 3800 block of Beach Drive SW. Officers and detectives responded to the scene and have since determined that the deceased, a 51-year-old female from Kent, was murdered.

Homicide detectives believe the victim (photo right) parked her car in the 4400 block of Beach Drive SW on Sunday night, March 11th. The victim had planned to take a walk along the beach but was found deceased just offshore the next morning. The suspect(s) remain at large.

If you have information about this incident or if you saw any suspicious activity, vehicles or persons in the area on the evening of Sunday, March 11th, please call 911 or the Seattle Police Homicide Tip Line at (206) 233-5000. Anonymous tips are welcome. You can also call Crime Stoppers of Puget Sound at 1-800-222-TIPS.

Police say the cause of death will have to be released by the Medical Examiner, which also will be the source for her name; we have heard a name from a source but will not publish it until we have confirmed it with the Medical Examiner. Police also have released this photo of her car, a 2010 Buick Lacrosse, which appears to have been photographed across from Me-Kwa-Mooks, a few blocks south of where her body was found:

Police added this to their report on SPD Blotter:

The Seattle Police would like to remind everyone to be vigilant and aware of your surroundings anytime you are outdoors and especially in the hours of darkness. This remains an active and ongoing homicide investigation.

This is the second murder of the year in West Seattle; the first was a deadly shooting next to Morgan Junction Park in January (a suspect is jailed and awaiting another hearing next month).

3:20 PM UPDATE: The Medical Examiner identifies the victim as Greggette Guy but says final word on how she died is “pending.”

ADDED 5:35 PM: For those not familiar with the Beach Drive area, here’s a Google Map showing the spots where Ms. Guy’s body was found and where her car was found:

One commenter wondered if flyers would be distributed in the area, to reach those who don’t see news reports about this (citywide organizations have picked it up now); we have heard from two police sources that flyers are indeed planned. (Let us know if you see any – we don’t know the timetable, but have already taken one drive through the area to look.)

6:29 PM UPDATE: We just received a scan of the flyer from Richard Worthington of Seattle Real Estate Associates (WSB sponsor):

He says police are indeed canvassing the area to ask if anyone saw anything or anybody out of the ordinary.