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She didn't make it. She was 21 and pregnant, and she died of stab wounds in the yard of the home. Her toddler son and godmother were inside.
The man suspected of killing her, the woman's 23-year-old boyfriend, was on the run with her infant daughter.
"At this point, we have a homicide suspect on the run with a 9-month-old girl," Pierce County sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer said. "We're after him and he knows it."
The name of the slain woman -- who was two to three months pregnant, according to family members -- was not officially released.
In addition to her infant daughter, the victim had a 2 1/2-year-old son, who was taken into protective custody, Troyer said. It was unclear what, if anything, he witnessed.
Neighbors said the couple had been involved in dispute within the last month, with several saying the victim had stabbed the suspect.
They recounted her last words, based on what the owner of the duplex told them. He lives in the other unit and told them he saw what happened.
Some neighbors said they were concerned about the victim's friends.
"I had nothing against the girl," said Daniel Roscoe, who lives across the street from the scene, "just the people she brought around."
Lester is being investigated for possible gang ties, Troyer said.
Court records show he has been convicted of felonies three times in the past five years.
He pleaded guilty to first-degree theft in connection with a purse snatching in 2010 and was sentenced to six months of home detention in January.
Lester was convicted of first-degree robbery and first-degree attempted robbery after two incidents within an hour of each other in July 2006. He was sentenced to 4 1/2 years in prison, records show.
Family members of the victim and her oldest child kept vigil outside the crime scene tape into the cold night.
Pekina Dandridge, the toddler's grandmother, said the victim was a good person.
"She tried her best," said Dandridge of Tacoma. "What can you say about young people?"
The victim's aunt, Kathleen Gooden of University Place, said she had met the suspect once recently.
"He had that tattoo," she said, indicating a tear shape near his eye. "I know that's gang-related."
Gooden said she asked her niece if she felt comfortable with that. The young woman told her she was, Gooden said.
Later the woman confided in Gooden that she was pregnant with the suspect's second child. Last week, she dropped her kids off at Gooden's so she could go on a job interview at McDonald's.
"She was learning," Gooden said.
One neighbor stood by the crime scene tape, watching the scene unfold. She said she was friends with the victim but did not want to be publicly identified.
She was visibly upset, with tears in her eyes.
"It's crazy how fast you can be gone," she said.
Kathleen Cooper: 253-597-8546
kathleen.cooper@thenewstribune.com
Christian Hill: 253-274-7390
christian.hill@thenewstribune.com
