Wallingford in the News, Unfortunately

There was a murder on Saturday night or Sunday morning that reportedly took place on the 3900 block of Burke Ave N, about 2 blocks SE of Hamilton. King County prosecutors report that 24-year-old Biftu Dadi was stabbed to death by 29-year-old Attila Richards in the back of her Jeep Cherokee, after they were reportedly first sleeping in the car for a while.

I say reportedly as the news stories makes it seem that this information is a result of self-reporting by Attila Richards, who drove to Western State Psychiatric Hospital and turned himself in after the murder. His story has apparently shifted and been disputed, plus he claims illicit drug use was involved, so if you have any information it would obviously help to contact Seattle Police Homicide detectives at 206 684-5550. I assume if you live on the 3900 block of Burke you’ve already been contacted by police.

I have no inside knowledge of the story, so for more info check out the Seattle PI coverage, which seemed to be the best. Here’s a map of where the incident occurred, including Wallingford’s boundaries according to Google:

As an addendum, a helpful tip for dealing with social services type issues is to be aware of the 211 phone number. The other day I pulled up to a traffic signal where a woman with a child was crying on the side of the road. I rolled down the window and asked if she was OK, and she clearly wasn’t. After pulling off the road and hearing her story, we had her contact 211, so that they could work with her to figure out a place for her to spend the night. It’s always hard to figure out the right thing to do, but 211 is a good option for some scenarios.