NEWS | City Council postpones decision on Group Health development [2] Staffing reductions planned for Union Hill fire station [8]
˜
.com
REPORTER
LOCAL | Holiday spirit shines bright at annual FRIDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2011 Redmond Lights winter festival [4]
A DIVISION OF SOUND PUBLISHING
Investigators finalize cause of fatal fire as undetermined
NEWSLINE: 425.867.0353
REDMOND
SPORTS | Olympic gymnast Jonathan Horton visits Redmond, talks about his passion for the sport [11]
Raising the roof for ‘Cavalia’
Assistant fire marshal says that fire was not caused by cigarette or marijuana ashes BILL CHRISTIANSON bchristianson@redmond-reporter.com
[ more FIRE page 7 ]
Crew members raise the White Big Top, the venue of the upcoming show, “Cavalia: A Magical Encounter Between Human and Horse,” VIDEO ONLINE www.redmond-reporter.com at Marymoor Park Thursday afternoon. Created by Normand Latourelle, one of the co-founders of Cirque du Soleil, Cavalia is a lavish orchestration of equestrian and performing arts. The large-scale production features 38 acrobats, aerialists, dancers, musicians and riders and 45 horses from around the world. The show runs Jan. 24-Feb. 5. For tickets, call 1-866-999-8111 or visit www.cavalia.net. See story, PAGE 14. CHAD COLEMAN, Redmond Reporter
PART 2 OF 2-PART SERIES
Relationship filled with allegations of abuse, neglect MATT PHELPS AND CARRIE WOOD Reporter Newspapers
Authorities have not ruled out any theories as they continue searching for missing 2-year-old Sky Metalwala. The investigation has also largely focused on the boy’s parents, Julia Biryukova and Solomon Metalwala,
who were nearing the end of a bitter divorce and custody battle just weeks before their son disappeared. This is the second story in a two-part series that examines the neglect and abuse the couple alleged against each other. The first part examined the parents’ contentious marital history.
PSYCHIATRIC ISSUES While living in their Kirkland home, located in the South Rose Hill neighborhood, neighbors said the couple was very friendly. “Solomon is a very kind man,” former neighbor Nicolas Collins told [ more COUPLE page 10 ]
ONLINE Solomon Metalwala awarded custody of Sky’s older sister, Maile. To read story, go to www. redmond-reporter. com
549739
Redmond Fire Department investigators have officially ruled the cause of the fatal New Year’s Day apartment fire as “undetermined.” But investigators were able to determine that the fire was not caused by cigarette or marijuana ashes, according to the city’s assistant fire marshal. This week’s announcement ends a nearly one-year thorough investigation of the fire that broke out on a groundlevel unit at the Sammamish Ridge Apartments and took the lives of a beloved father and his four sons. “It’s frustrating, but that’s where we are at,” Assistant Fire Marshal Lynn Sjolander said Tuesday morning of the investigation’s findings. “It’s a process of elimination and we determined, it’s undetermined.” David Thompson and his four sons — ranging in ages from 2 to 12 — died from smoke inhalation after flames engulfed Building 3 of the apartment complex at 14820 Redmond Way, at around 2:30 a.m. Jan. 1. Thompson’s wife, Lily Reasor, was the only one from the family to survive. While the cause of the fire is unknown, investigators were able to eliminate a scenario — reported by the Seattle Times in a Jan. 2 story — that the fire was caused by cigarette or marijuana ashes, Sjolander said. “We ruled that out,” he said. “That didn’t play into the cause at all.” Investigators also ruled out any sort of electrical malfunction caused the fire, Sjolander said. Redmond Fire investigators recently received the testing results from wiring