Last fall’s memorial and march for Dalton

Seattle officials, loved ones, and neighbors will gather in Madison Park Wednesday night to remember Ruth Dalton and celebrate a new plaque honoring her installed overlooking the beach of Lake Washington.

“Join us in remembering Ruth Dalton and her little Prince on the one-year anniversary of their senseless and violent murders,” organizers say. “We are asking the community she loved so dearly to come together to honor her legacy of love and kindness.”

“Family, friends and city officials will talk about the loss, update on the case and what has been done to make our communities safer,” according to neighborhood pub McGilvra’s.

Councilmember Joy Hollingsworth has confirmed she plans to attend as more officials and city leaders are expected.

Dalton’s memorial last September included included Mayor Bruce Harrell, council members Hollingsworth and Tanya Woo, then-Interim SPD Chief Sue Rahr and Seattle City Attorney Ann Davidson. The march also brought out a showing of conservative pundits and law and order advocates as commentator Brandi Kruse and Republican gubernatorial candidate Dave Reichert were reported in the crowds.

Dalton’s killing brought criticism of prosecutors, the courts, and the justice system. The man charged in her murder had extensive criminal history and had been imprisoned for crimes including a 1993 vehicular homicide in Seattle and a 1999 armed robbery in Renton. He had been released from prison following a conviction in 2003. During his incarceration, 15 more years were added to his sentence for an attack on a Monroe prison guard with a crude knife fashioned from a 12-inch piece of metal.

For Dalton’s death, Jahmed Haynes has been charged with assault, animal cruelty, and first degree murder for the brutal attack on the 80-year-old dog walker who was killed in an August carjacking with her dog, Prince.

Haynes was later found unfit to stand trial and has been undergoing treatment at Western State Hospital in an effort to restore his competency including the use of “psychotropic medications.”

In a hearing this summer, the court was informed that Haynes’s treatment should continue. “Mr. Haynes currently appears to possess the capacity to understand the nature of his legal proceedings but to lack the capacity to assist in his defense,” the latest report delivered to the court reads, saying Haynes continues to “endorse underlying residual delusional beliefs about police footage being fake or tampered with using ‘mannequins’ and makes delusional “references to paperwork he received from jail that he believes will assist him in his defense.”

The report concludes that Haynes’s stay at Western should continue. The next competency hearing in the case is planned for October.

Mental health competency procedures can take years to play out in the court system. In 2009, CHS reported on the long process that led to restored competency and a guilty plea in the 2007 murder of Capitol Hill resident Shannon Harps.

Organizers of Wednesday night’s memorial are also making sure to recognize Dalton’s love for dogs as they invite attendees after the plaque ceremony to “Yappy Hour” at nearby neighborhood watering hole McGilvra’s.

Wednesday’s memorial is slated to begin at 5:30 PM. You can learn more here: 1-year Anniversary: Remembering Ruth Dalton.

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