Police lured Olympia vehicular homicide suspect to dog park, court records say
A 35-year-old woman accused of vehicular homicide is being held in the Thurston County jail in lieu of $200,000 bail.
Christina Letia Sayler of Olympia attended her preliminary appearance in Thurston County Superior Court on Friday.
Investigators allege Sayler crashed her vehicle head-on into a southbound vehicle in the 800 block of South Bay Road on Dec. 27. The collision killed Frances “Moriah” Brown, a 44-year-old Olympia resident who was Sayler’s passenger. The wreck injured Sayler and the driver of the southbound vehicle, The Olympian previously reported.
Now, prosecutors are accusing Sayler of vehicular homicide, vehicular assault and driving under the influence. Court records indicate Sayler may have taken fentanyl prior to the collision. She has not yet been charged.
Judge Allyson Zipp set the bail amount after finding probable cause for the alleged crimes.
“In this instance, the court has extreme concerns for the safety of the community,” Zipp said.
Deputy prosecuting attorney Alexandra Flynn asked the judge to set bail at $500,000. She said Brown’s family supported a high bail.
Defense attorney Diana Wildland represented Sayler during her preliminary appearance. She asked the judge to set bail at $10,000, saying that’s the most Sayler and her loved ones would be able to afford.
“She’s homeless right now, as is outlined in the probable cause affidavit,” Wildland said. “She’s been working on getting housing through housing vouchers and has other people in the community who can support her.”
As part of her conditions of release, Zipp barred Sayler from consuming alcohol or any controlled substances without a valid prescription, driving without a valid license or insurance, or contacting the driver she hit.
Sayler’s criminal history dates back to 2009 and includes various assault and theft charges among other convictions. Zipp said this history was “very concerning” and factored into her bail decision.
The investigation
A probable cause statement describes the investigation into the collision from the perspective of law enforcement. Prosecutors file these statements with the court so judges can decide on conditions of release.
The probable cause statement in this case gives this account of what happened:
A deputy responded to the scene of the collision at about 8:30 a.m. Dec. 27 after a witness called 911.
The caller told dispatch two cars collided head-on and there was an unconscious woman trapped in one of the vehicles because their door was smashed in.
The deputy found two vehicles at the scene: a 1998 black Volvo V70 and a 2012 gray Ford Escape. Fire personnel attempted to remove the unconscious woman from the passenger side of the Volvo, but they stopped after pronouncing her dead at the scene.
Coroner Gary Warnock later identified the passenger as Brown. He said she died from multiple blunt force injuries due to the collision and ruled her manner of death an accident, The Olympian reported.
The deputy spoke with the driver of the Ford Escape at the scene, according to the statement. She told the deputy the driver of the Volvo appeared to lose control of their vehicle, swerved into her lane and collided with her head-on.
A witness told the deputy she stopped to help. She spoke to the Ford Escape driver first and determined she did not have life-threatening injuries. She then checked on the occupants in the Volvo.
The witness noticed that Sayler appeared injured and her passenger, Brown, did not have a pulse. She asked Sayler if she had “taken anything.” Sayler allegedly said she had ingested fentanyl prior to the collision.
The deputy then spoke with Sayler. She told the deputy she did not know her passenger, and that they had just met at a local shelter.
Investigators determined the Volvo had a license plate registered to 2019 Ford Transit. They also learned Sayler allegedly hit another vehicle before the fatal collision.
First responders transported Sayler to Providence St. Peter Hospital. Medical staff asked her if she had any substances in her system. She initially denied having taken any substances but later allegedly admitted to using fentanyl, including the prior night.
While there, deputies obtained a search warrant, granting them the ability to obtain vials of Sayler’s blood and search the Volvo she drove.
An emergency room doctor told a deputy that Sayler suffered significant damage to her pelvis and would be transferred to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. Deputies then released her into the care of medical staff.
On Dec. 31, a woman called 911 to report Sayler was at her residence attempting to retrieve her dog. When a deputy arrived, the woman said Sayler had already left.
Deputies planned to contact Sayler by having the woman lure her to a dog park where she could pick up her dog.
Sayler arrived at the park as a passenger in a 2004 Honda Accord. Deputies asked her to step out of the vehicle. As she did so, she allegedly attempted to hide a small container of suspected fentanyl inside the car.
When asked about the container, Sayler allegedly admitted to possessing fentanyl and said she did not want to get into any more trouble.
The driver of the Honda agreed to let the deputy enter her vehicle to retrieve the container. The deputy searched Sayler and allegedly found drug paraphernalia in her purse and in her pants pocket.
Sayler told the deputy she left Harborview Medical Center the prior night before being medically cleared, and she was still recovering from a broken hip.
She added the Dec. 27 collision was an “accident” and she “did not mean to kill anyone,” according to the statement.
The deputy transported Sayler to Providence St. Peter Hospital where she was medically cleared to be booked into the county jail. The dog remains in the care of the woman who called 911.
Sayler is due back in court for her arraignment hearing at 1:30 p.m. Jan. 9.
