Neighbors remember slain Renton mom, police say son was killer

Renton police have arrested a 34-year-old man after he was accused of killing his mother in the apartment they were sharing in Renton. 

Police say the man called 911 to say that he'd woken up and found his mom deceased, but when they arrived, they found signs of a struggle and made the arrest.   

The backstory:

Neighbors say her son started living with her in her apartment at Liberty Square in Renton during the holidays, and that's when things started to change for her. 

What they're saying:

"This is too much, this is too much.  Too close," said Sean Williams, a friend of the woman who was killed.

Williams says his neighbor, who he nicknamed "Lee" was a friend to many at the Liberty Square apartments where she lived.  

"She used to sell me crazy color paints and stuff. That’s how we became friends.  She used to do the glass painting," said Williams.   

She also had a special place in her heart for children, according to Williams and other neighbors who lived nearby. 

"She was kind to all the kids. She let her cat little Oliver run out to play with the kids," said Williams.   

Because she lived alone for a while, Williams said it was a surprise to everyone in the community when her adult son showed up around Christmas.  Lee confided to Williams that there were some issues. 

"First day, he had a seizure in the living room, glass table fell flat on it, no scars or nothing," said Williams.  

The morning that she died, Sean said Lee called him. 

"Lee had called at like 12:30, and I didn’t pick up the phone in time. A couple of seconds later, I called her back. She said, ‘I called you. I called the wrong number’.  I didn’t think no mind," said Williams. 

About an hour and a half later after the phone call, Williams said he heard a commotion and ran outside. 

"Her son was outdoors screaming and yelling, and I said, ‘Where’s your mom?’   He said, 'Oh I don’t’ know," said Williams. 

He said that her son then told him that he had a seizure.

"I’m like ‘wow’," said Williams. "One of the police officers asked me, ‘Can I get him to get in the car?’. So, we got him in the car and that was all. They told me that she had passed." 

Other neighbors also witnessed the chaos.  

"I was woken up by the yelling. I look outside my window, which is right over there, and I see like 4 – 5 cop cars lined up," said Chaiya Lim Tilton, a neighbor.

Officers reported finding the woman in the bedroom.  

"The son said that he woke up and found his mother that way, but officers noticed that there were obvious signs of a struggle within the apartment," said Meeghan Black, Renton Police Department Communications Manager.

"She didn’t deserve none of this," said Williams.  "I’m upset at him because he should have been protecting his mom. And I’m like ‘ Dang dude that’s wrong. That lady didn’t do nothing to nobody’."  

Police say that detectives were planning to serve search warrants in order to look at the electronics and what was inside the apartment as part of the next steps of the investigation. 

The Source: Information for this article comes from the Renton Police Department and interviews from FOX 13's Jennifer Dowling.

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