RONDA-COURT
OF APPEALS-FERGUSON
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE---
In
a unanimous opinion, the Washington State Court of Appeals today reversed the
trial court decision of visiting Superior Court Judge Richard Hicks, who
dismissed Barbara Thompson’s request for court review into the suspicious
nature of her daughter’s 1998 death. The
opinion sends the case back to Lewis County Superior Court for further
proceedings. Thompson is the mother of
Ronda Reynolds, a 33 year old former WSP trooper who died from a single gunshot
to her head while sleeping in her
In
August 2006, Thompson filed suit against Lewis County Coroner Terry Wilson
under a law which provides for judicial review of a coroner’s determination of
cause and manner of death. The suit was
dismissed at the request of
Thompson
appealed the dismissal, and the appellate court has agreed that her lawsuit
should not have been dismissed. The
appellate court explained that Thompson was not required to file her lawsuit
until after Coroner Wilson had fulfilled his legal duty to meet with Thompson
and discuss his autopsy findings and report with her, which he has refused to
do.
After
the death of her daughter, Thompson found experts who conducted an independent
investigation into her daughter’s death.
In March 2006, Thompson delivered the results of the investigation to
After
the independent investigation was delivered to
Thompson
states that she is “thrilled” with the ruling, and vows to pursue her meeting with the coroner, who
must now meet with her and discuss the cause and manner of her daughter’s
suspicious death. Thompson was
represented by