30 years later, family of slain 14-year-old Tanya Frazier may get answers

SEATTLE, Wash. - More than three decades after 14-year-old Tanya Frazier was murdered, prosecutors have charged 57-year-old Marc Anthony Russ with first-degree murder with sexual motivation.

A breakthrough in DNA evidence linked Russ to a case that has haunted Tanya’s mother, Theresa Frazier, and the entire community since July 1994.

Local perspective:

For 31 years, the answers never came — but the memories never left.

Theresa keeps her daughter close by sharing photos of Tanya's birthday parties, always around Halloween because she was born Oct. 29, with costumes, party hats, moments frozen in time.

Theresa also keeps Tanya’s last professional photo framed but tucked away in her room. Too hard to see every day.

Now she's preparing to face the man prosecutors say killed her daughter.

"I’m actually nervous about it," Theresa said. "To put a person with and been bringing justice to them. Doesn't bring Tanya back, but at least justice will hopefully be served."

Detectives recently knocked on Theresa’s door to tell her prosecutors had charged Russ. New DNA technology tied him to Tanya’s disappearance and death.

"I was happy about it," Theresa said. "Kind of brought up the emotions all over again. About the day they came out and told me that they found her and she was killed."

The backstory:

Seattle police say Tanya was last seen leaving Meany Middle School on a Monday. Her body was found two days later.

For more than three decades, Rose Winquist has worked Tanya’s case. She kept every note she wrote and every photograph of the teenager she met through mementos in her bedroom.

What they're saying:

"She was a little 14-year-old girl. I have letters that I took from her room that talk about my life story. You know what? I had to laugh. And it's like, and she talks about things like, oh, there's this new character on Sesame Street. He's really cute. His name's Elmo, right?" Winquist said. 

"She was a determined little kid. I will tell you she went to summer school for the sole purpose of being able to work at the Chicken Soup Brigade, because they wouldn't have hired her if she wasn't in summer school. So she wanted money, because her goal right then was to get herself a pager. There were no cell phones back then, right? So she wanted to get a pager and CDs. Those were the big things in 1994."

Local perspective:

Police say Tanya was on her way to a thrift shop where she worked — but she never made it. 

Her body was found by a man walking his dog on East Highland Drive in Capitol Hill.

Winquist says there were clues even back then that Russ may have lived steps from someone Tanya knew. Russ's mother lived across the street from Meany Middle School, according to court documents.

"I think there was an acquaintance, and I think the reason, potentially, that he killed her is because she could identify him," Winquist said.

Court documents show Russ, an unregistered sex offender, had multiple convictions, including a 1996 home invasion robbery. He was sentenced to life in prison but was re-sentenced and released due to changes in state law in 2020-21.

Theresa has lost more than a daughter.

"Her life. I mean, she had so much opportunity and the future that she could that this man took away. And it's, I think, of that it's always hard. You know, she could have been married now, she could have had kids, grandkids, and she didn't have a chance to even finish high school, because this man took, took her life," Theresa said.

Dig deeper:

Now, the question Theresa is asking: Why did the man charged in her daughter’s murder slip through the system for decades?

"I think in many ways, the system failed Tonya because the DNA, like I said, has definitely progressed over the years, and the police had it early on. But the problem was they didn't have the killers," Winquist said. "Basically, in 1990 the laws changed, and the law said that anytime anyone is incarcerated, they were supposed to get their DNA upon release. Well, this man was in prison in 1987, in 1990 twice, in 1991 and again in 1993 for violent crimes. His DNA should have been taken on release every single one of those times. And it wasn't."

Theresa and Rose never stopped trying to keep Tanya’s case alive. Now, they’re holding on to hope that justice won’t slip away.

The difference now is they’re focused on remembering Tanya — not the crime — but the child she was.

"I always remember her as sweet person and loving, and she always carried around teddy bears to school and, you know, give hugs to people or teachers, and she was just a happy kid that her life got taken away," Theresa said.

What's next:

Russ is being held without bail at the King County jail and is scheduled to be arraigned on Tuesday.

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