Seattle family still waiting for answers in decades-old murder case
SEATTLE - It’s been nearly 30 years since someone killed Loreen Branson. Her body was found behind a Fred Meyer in Kent on February 11, 1995.
"A little boy was taking the garbage for his mom behind the Fred Meyer and they found Loreen," said Nadine Brooks, Branson’s mom.
Investigators said she died from blunt force injuries to her head. FOX 13 Seattle spoke with Branson’s family, who is still waiting for answers after the search for her killer went cold.
Branson was 27 years old when she died. She was a single mom with two kids. Her family described her as a protector and sunshine.
They told FOX 13 she was hitchhiking to see her mom in the hospital, and that was the last time they heard from her.
"I always told her don’t hitchhike, it’s dangerous to hitchhike," Brooks said.
Sitting side by side, they re-lived what happened nearly 30 years ago.
"It’s still hard for me to talk about Loreen because I don’t want to cry when I talk about her," Brooks said.
Investigators initially suspected Gary Ridgway, the so-called ‘Green River Killer’ was behind Branson’s death, but that later changed.
"The Green River Killer said he denied it said he didn’t do it, but she was killed right around that time," Brooks said.
Green River Killer Gary Ridgway transferred out of King County Jail
Gary Ridgway, the convicted serial killer known as the Green River Killer, has been transferred from King County Jail to a different facility, according to public records.
While that’s changed, the family’s search for answers hasn’t.
"I know police work very hard and diligently in these cases and want to solve them for the family members, but I’m worried about my sister, she’s 80 and she wants to know," said Shelly Horton, Loreen's aunt.
Brooks has dealt with so much loss. She lost Branson, another daughter who was killed in 2016, and a son who died in a fire.
"I was yelling at God the other night and I said ‘God, how come you gave me all these kids just so you can take them away from me," Brooks said.
She later told FOX 13 she believes all three of her children are with God and at peace.
This was their message for whoever is behind Branson's murder: "The ripple effect for what was done to her daughter caused so much grief in the family, just give us some answers and why? Why would you do this?"
She adds, this has been especially emotionally devastating for Branson’s daughter, who is now in her 30’s.
The family doesn’t know if there’s closure, but they believe they can find some kind of peace if they know what happened to her, and who is responsible.
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