[ad_1]
TACOMA, Wash. – Michella Welch's family saw her accused killer enter the Pierce County Court House on Monday.
"Eventually, I feel like I have a little closure," said Barbara Leonard, Michella's mother.
Gary Charles Hartman pleaded not guilty to first degree murder and first degree murder in the murder of Michella Welch in 1986.
Welch, 12, was playing with her two sisters at Puget Park in Tacoma when, according to the court documents, she returned home to have lunch for three.
"Michella was like, I'm just going to run and catch them very quickly and come back," said Angela Velazquez, Michella's sister.
But it did not come back and search efforts appeared empty.
Michella's body was found a quarter of a mile from Puget Park in a wooded area.
She had been brutally murdered with signs of sexual assault, loading documents.
Until recently, researchers could not find a match for the DNA that was found on Michella's body.
Thirty-two years later, thanks to a positive match found in a restaurant napkin, officials were able to connect Hartman's DNA to that found on Welch's body.
"You never expect that the face of someone who has done something so terrible seems normal," said Leonard.
Hartman was arrested last week in his Lakewood home.
"Thirty-two years later, justice is still important," said Pierce County Attorney Mark Lindquist. "It always counts for the family and friends of the victim, for our community and for us."
Hartman's next appearance is scheduled for July 10th. He is being held at Pierce County Jail on a $ 5,000,000 bail.
Source link
