Seattle police have arrested a man in connection with the remains found near the University of Washington in June.
Charles W. Becker of King County was charged with murder and sexually violating human remains on Friday.
Family members of 56-year-old Mavis Kindness Nelson say they have mixed emotions after speaking with detectives on the case — they are sad Nelson is no longer here, but they are happy to see progress has been made in the case.
“It’s making us feel a lot better that we are finally getting a little bit of closure to it,” Nelson’s sister, Ernestine Morningowl, said.
“This shouldn’t even have happened. Because like I said, she was a sweet, wonderful, caring person,” Morningowl said.
She says her sister was one of the kindest souls around and that she would do anything for anybody.
“I mean, she would help anybody who needed help. And she had done that before. She had housed people and feed them,” Morningowl said.
Before meeting with detectives, Morningowl says family members were able to have a proper burial for Nelson a few weeks ago. She says it was a moment of closure for the family.
“To have the family together and have closure … I mean, it was great. All of her children were there. All three of them were there,” Morningowl said.
She is thankful to hear the case is moving the way it is, but she knows there is still more work to be done to get justice for her sister.
“I’m not happy that you’re gone, but I am happy that this is coming out and we are going to serve. … We’re going to get justice for you,” Morningowl said.
According to the court documents, Becker was charged and convicted of killing his four-month-old son in 2015. He was convicted of manslaughter and received the maximum sentence.
“And what state lawmakers have set for somebody convicted of that crime with his kind of history, which was no previous felonies, state lawmakers have said that he got in that Eastern Washington was the longest possible sentence,” Casey McNerthney with the King County Prosecutor’s Office said.
KIRO 7 spoke to people who lived nearby Becker. They tell us they didn’t have much, if any, interaction with him, but they say the details of the case are very disturbing.
“Obviously, I don’t want that person like a block and a half away from me. That’s horrifying,” Isabella, a senior at UW, said.
“It’s a little scary to think that we were living next to him for a couple of months while he was just out on the loose, but it’s definitely good to know they have him,” UW senior Luke Hatfield said.
These neighbors hope that after cases like these, safety becomes a top priority in the area.
“And anything can happen. So, I feel like some sort of security should be taken to not allow that to go down,” Hatfield said.
“I mean as women, you get tired of that it’s your job to keep yourself safe. Like, I do everything I can. So, I think it’s more than just women’s jobs,” Isabella said.
Becker remains at the King County Jail and is being held on a $5,000,000 bond. His next court date is Oct. 20.
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