Kassie Dewey
1/30/1986-4/11/2021
On April 11, 2021, 35-year-old Kassie Dewey and her 5-year-old daughter were viciously attacked with a knife by her (disgusting) ex-boyfriend when he ambushed them in the garage of her home.
Kassie passed away before first responders arrived on the scene. At the same time, her daughter was brought to the ICU, where she fought for her life for a month before being released. This is their story.
Kassie was born and raised in Spokane, Wa. She had 4 siblings, 3 sisters and 1 (little?) brother (who they all dotted on.) Growing up, she played soccer, baseball, basketball, and volleyball. She loved sports. (Her uncle) says she was even a spitfire at tetherball, and when she was 6 years old, she loved belting out some Mariah Carey. Kassie graduated in 2004 from North Central HS and loved to jam out to fun music and craft. She had three beautiful and incredibly strong children. She was gorgeous, had green eyes, and was naturally a redhead, but as you can see from her pictures, she changed styles and colors a lot. Her fashion (sense) was bright and loud. She loved the color purple, was strong, and had a zest for life that was enviable. Those who love her said she knew them better than they knew themselves. She was a bright light in all the lives she touched and loved and cherished by many.
Kassie worked as a mental health technician at Eastern State Hospital, one of Washington State's two state-run psychiatric facilities that care for vulnerable adults with severe or long-term mental illness. Kassie was a great employee; she worked there for almost 2 decades. Sometime in 2019-2020, one of her coworkers caught her eye.
He was a nurse and worked in a different part of the hospital from her. He worked well with patients and was skilled at diffusing conflict and "managing" even the most (volatile) patients. Some of his coworkers gave him "shoutouts" for his positive energy and ability to facilitate a safe environment. Although quiet, he was making quite a stir at the hospital.
You see, in 2015, his wife, who had previously filed a protection order against him, left the relationship for good. The same year he started dating a coworker who was a psychiatric security attendant. It appears the relationship lasted a few years but was toxic. She would later report he was manipulative and abusive. One evening in 2019, she broke things off, and he went crazy. He strangled her and only let go when she bit him and screamed at her son, who called 911.
He was arrested for second-degree assault, and a restraining order was placed against him. Despite being aware, the hospital did not open an internal investigation while his felony charges were pending. Instead, they gave him an alternative assignment that put him in the supervising role of the woman he had attacked. After Kassie's death, this situation was brought to light, and the hospital's CEO resigned.
And the staff was split. There was a clear divide between people who believed he was guilty and those who didn't.
He continued to stalk her both at work and in her personal life. Her son would see him watching him when they played in the front yard. With her concerns dismissed by the hospital and half her coworkers saying she was a liar, she felt hopeless and terrified. It wasn't long before she quit and left town (in fear for her safety).
It was around this time that he and Kassie started dating. Kassie was under the impression he was innocent, or at least not as bad as everyone was saying he was. And despite the warnings, they moved in together in June 2020.
During the relationship, Kassie told her family he was a jealous person. I don't know much about his mental health other than he was depressed and drank to self-medicate. The two fought constantly and had screaming matches when they drank. By February 2021, the relationship started to deteriorate quickly.
By April 9, 2021, Kassie ended the relationship and told her ex he was no longer welcome in her home. He left, but he was furious. She changed the locks on her house so he couldn't get in.
The following day he sent her over 100 texts that the court would later report as "very disturbing."
SCENE
On Sunday, April 11, he parked a block away from her house, snuck into her detached garage, and waited for her.
Kassie's two oldest children, ages 11 and 14, were at their father's, and she was getting ready to pick them up from his house. Kassie and her five-year-old got their stuff, including a big bag of jelly beans, and went to get in the car.
They were violently ambushed in the garage. He stabbed Kassie 26 times before turning his attention to her 5-year-old daughter. He viciously attacked her daughter so viciously that she had around 7 stab wounds to her torso areas that penetrated her liver and lungs, and she had her throat cut. 8-10 injuries in total on this little baby. She also had defensive wounds on her hands, indicating that she tried to fight off her attacker.
When Kassie never arrived to pick up her children, their father drove them to her house. He didn't wait to see if they made it inside for some reason and just left them there.
The doors were locked, and they couldn't get in, so the two got a ladder and climbed into the house through a window.
The house was a complete mess, and they got a weird feeling but continued to look around. That's when they heard a car running in the garage. They tried to open the garage door, but it was locked, and they knew something was wrong, so they called 911.
First responders arrived and found two cars running, blood everywhere, and Kassie, her daughter, and her ex all lying on the ground beside the running vehicles nearby. Kassie had passed away from her injuries, her ex was semi-conscious but had no serious injuries, and Kassie's baby, her little 5-year-old, was alive but barely hanging on. She was quickly rushed to the hospital.
The ex acted confused and appeared to be under the influence or intoxicated by car fumes. The police took him to the hospital, and when he was released, he was arrested and charged with murder and attempted murder.
Kassie's daughter spent a month in intensive care. Not only did her little body need to heal from the wounds, but she also ended up with an infection caused by her throat being cut. In the hospital, the injury was draining into her chest and lungs. She (had) multiple surgeries and was put in a medically induced coma. Her recovery in the hospital was long and extremely painful. It seems that she has made a full recovery, at least physically. But for those interested, there is a gofundme for her medical bills that I will link below. Not long ago, the family hosted a thank-you party for the first responders that helped save Kassie's daughter. They seem like such a kind group of people.
He pled guilty to premeditated murder and premeditated attempted murder.
He was sentenced to 36 years, with credit for time served. 36 years for his attack on both victims. How did he not receive life in prison for Kassie's murder alone? Personally, I'm not even sure how that's possible.
It honestly makes me sick to my stomach. The judge says this sentence is life because he will be around 80 when he is released. But I don't see it that way. He should be in jail for life with no possibility of parole.
Imagine how her daughter will feel when he's released, no matter what his age is.
I think Kassie's ex, whom I refuse to even name, received that sentence because he had no criminal convictions in the state of Washington or prior felonies. After all, he was a registered nurse.
Kassie is missed every day by her loved ones. She will be remembered for her laugh, spontaneous nature, lively spirit, and love for her children. In court, her son said, "my mother was one of the best moms you could ever get. You have broken my heart into pieces that will never come back." Her story continues to impact the community of Spokane, and it sheds light on domestic violence and highlights that one of the most dangerous times for victims during these abusive relationships is when they leave their violent partner. Her story has also started momentum with enacting Tina's law which proposes a national domestic violence perpetrator registry similar to a sex offender registry. I will link more information on that below as well.
If you find it in your heart, please light a candle for Kassie or anyone experiencing DV. If you or anyone you know is experiencing DV, don't hesitate to get in touch with someone in your support system and resources. You are not alone.
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