Gov. Bob Ferguson blocks release of WA man convicted of killing 3 in SeaTac tavern

Gov. Bob Ferguson on Tuesday blocked the release of a man convicted of murdering three people in June 1980 – effectively undoing a January decision made by his predecessor, then-Gov. Jay Inslee.

In 2022, Inslee canceled the parole of Timothy Pauley, who decades prior had pleaded guilty to the triple slayings. But on his final day in office, Inslee reportedly walked back that decision, setting the stage for Pauley’s release.

Ferguson, who met with the victims’ families on Monday, stopped the release of 66-year-old Pauley from the Monroe Correctional Complex, where he’s serving consecutive life sentences.

“Since Governor Inslee’s cancellation of his parole in 2022, Mr. Pauley has done additional rehabilitative work, and has been articulate in expressing regret and remorse,” Ferguson wrote in his March 25 order. “One must question, however, whether this comes from a place of true remorse rather than self-interest in being paroled.”

When Pauley was 21, he and an accomplice committed a fatal armed robbery at a tavern in SeaTac. Employees Linda Burford, Loran Dowell and Robert Pierre were killed in the attack. Two other women were bound and left for dead, but they ultimately regained consciousness and survived.

Pauley’s release from prison had been scheduled for Thursday.

His attorney, Marla Zink, told McClatchy via email that Ferguson opted against meeting with her or Pauley prior to the decision, “which is obviously disappointing.”

“The experts in criminal justice, restorative justice, and psychology who have met with or gotten to know Tim Pauley over the years all disagree with the Governor’s conclusion,” Zink said. “Tim also has a strong community of family and friends who proudly stand by him and know the true depth of his rehabilitation and remorse.”

Brionna Aho, communications director for the governor’s office, said Ferguson’s legal counsel has been in communication with Pauley’s attorney.

Washington’s Indeterminate Sentence Review Board (ISRB) in 2022 authorized Pauley’s release, which then kicked the matter over to the governor, as reported by the Washington State Standard. Inslee opted at the time against granting Pauley parole. Like Ferguson, he’d expressed doubts over the authenticity of Pauley’s remorse.

An ISRB spokesperson told McClatchy via email that the board will honor Ferguson’s order, adding: “A Redetermination Hearing setting a new Minimum Term for Mr. Pauley will be set in the future.”

The move by Inslee to reverse course on the matter in January drew the ire of Republicans, as well as victims’ families.

House Minority Leader Drew Stokesbary, an Auburn Republican, and state Rep. Joshua Penner, an Orting Republican, wrote a letter Monday asking the governor to stand by his commitment to backing crime survivors.

Stokesbary applauded Ferguson’s action in a Tuesday statement.

“State leaders must always stand with victims and their loved ones to ensure those who commit heinous acts are held accountable and our communities remain safe,” Stokesbary said via email. “This outcome would not have been possible without the incredible courage of the victims’ families, who refused to let their loved ones be forgotten.”

Bonney Lake Mayor Terry Carter also urged the governor to stop Pauley’s release. In a recent letter, Carter said that Pauley could have lived near Bonney Lake after being let out.

Last week the Bonney Lake City Council heard from victims’ family members who described Pauley as a “master manipulator” who’s “failed to show any remorse for his actions,” Carter wrote.

“Pauley is a danger to others and his release would be absolutely traumatizing to his victim and their families,” the mayor’s letter continued.

Ferguson noted in his order that in 2012, Pauley wrote a letter to his brother that revealed “even with 30 years’ distance from his horrific crimes in which victims were terrorized, dehumanized, and killed in cold blood, he was still capable of seeing other people as less than human.”

Asked for additional comment, the governor’s office told McClatchy that Ferguson’s order “speaks for itself.”