'She had a fire in her': 80-year-old grandmother killed while defending dogs in Seattle carjacking

An 80-year-old grandmother in Washington state died during a carjacking this week as she struggled to protect two dogs, and a 48-year-old suspect is in custody for what police are calling a senseless killing.

The Seattle Police Department identified the victim as Ruth Dalton, a local dog walker. One dog in the car with her at the time belonged to Dalton and was later found fatally stabbed, police Deputy Chief Eric Barden said during a press conference Wednesday.

The suspect was arrested later that night by a SWAT team, Barden said, and when captured, he was carrying a bloody knife and the keys to Dalton’s Subaru.

“This is a tragic and horrific incident,” Barden said. “(Dalton was) participating vibrantly in her community... that was snatched from her and from her family and her friends and the community by virtue of this senseless violence.”

Police identified the homicide suspect to USA TODAY as Jahmed K. Haynes, of Seattle.

A motive in the killings was not immediately known, but police told USA TODAY Haynes has eight prior criminal convictions including a vehicular homicide in 1993, and Barden said the suspect has a history of mental health issues.

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Ruth Dalton run over by her own vehicle

Just before 10 a.m. Tuesday, officers responded to a carjacking in the city's Madison Valley neighborhood, about three miles east of downtown.

Arriving officers, Barden said, found bystanders performing aide to Dalton in the road. 

Seattle firefighters responded and attempted to save Dalton, but she died at the scene. 

'She had a fire in her'

Dalton's granddaughter, Melanie Roberts, remembered her grandmother as a kind, loving, and generous soul.

"But she had a fire in her! She defended those she loved fiercely," Roberts told USA TODAY Thursday. "I have no doubt in my mind that she fought that man to save those fur babies. She wouldn't have cared about the car... her only thought would have been her clients' babies."

Roberts, 40, of Lake Stevens in Snohomish County, about an hour drive north of Seattle, said her grandmother started her business, Grandma's Critter Care, when she was five.

"(It was) to pay for private Christian school," Roberts, said. "That was her only goal. But she fell in love with the job and the people and was in business for 35 years. The love she had for every one of those animals and their humans was amazing."

Fingerprints on Dalton's cell phone led police to suspect

A preliminary investigation revealed Dalton was in the driver’s seat when the suspect jumped into her car.

Dalton fought back, police said, as the man tried to push her out. Two dogs were in the car, one that belonged to Dalton and another pet, Barden said.

Witnesses tried to help the woman, including one man who approached the car, but backed up when the suspect brandished a knife, Barden said. The same man returned with a bat, police said, but the suspect drove away, running over Dalton and striking several cars.

Dalton was dragged by the vehicle, and fatally wounded.

“He did not need to back up,” witness Laura Dynan told The Seattle Times. “This woman was fighting for other people’s dogs and her own dog in this car. Like it wasn’t about the car. It was about the dogs.”

Not far from the scene, officers found Dalton’s car and obtained fingerprints from her cellphone, Barden said.

Dalton's dog found fatally stabbed at park

Later in the day witnesses reported someone hurting a dog in Brighton Playfield in the Columbia City neighborhood, about 5 miles from the carjacking scene, Barden said.

When animal control officers responded to the scene, Barden said, they found a dog stabbed to death and noticed the dog's collar had a tag with Dalton’s name on it.

It was not immediately known what happened to the other dog.

Man accused of killing dogwalker, dog, faces first-degree murder, animal cruelty charges

King County online jail records show Haynes was booked into the jail just before 8 p.m. Wednesday and faces charges of first-degree murder and first-degree animal cruelty.

As of Thursday he remained jailed with no bond, a jail spokesperson reported.

It was not immediately known when he was due to appear in court or whether he had obtained an attorney.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call police at (206) 233-5000 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS

Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X @nataliealund.