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PLANE CRASH | Kirkland resident, Amazon executive dies in Michigan [4]
Kang pride | LW girls prepare for 2011-12 FRIDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2011 basketball season [10]
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Busted | Kirkland woman arrested in Oregon for having five pounds of marijuana in trunk [5]
Solomon Metalwala gains custody of his daughter Father of missing Sky Metalwala happy to be spending Christmas with 4-year-old Maile BY MATT PHELPS AND CARRIE WOOD Kirkland Reporter
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irthdays and Christmas are meant to be celebrated with family and friends. Thanks to a King County Court commissioner, Maile Metalwala will spend both with her father and his family. Maile will be reunited
with her father Solomon Metalwala on or before Dec. 17, one day before the child’s fifth birthday. The commissioner gave full custody to Metalwala during a hearing Monday morning in King County Superior Court in Kent. The girl’s mother, Julia Biryukova, was also granted limited visitation rights with her daughter.
“I feel very good. I am excited to have Maile back in my life 100 percent,” Metalwala told the Reporter following the hearing. “I can’t wait to just talk to her.” The Kirkland father also has many plans for the holidays. “We have never really celebrated Christmas, so I’m going to start some new traditions because Christmas is a beautiful time of the year
Juanita woman’s death ruled a homicide
Search continues The search for Sky Metalwala continued last weekend in Kirkland. For full story see page14. with the birth of Jesus,” said Metalwala. “So I want her (Maile) to really embrace all that for the first time. I can’t [ more SKY page 14 ]
Kirkland resident Solomon Metalwala gained custody of his daughter Maile Metalwala on Monday during a dependency hearing. FACEBOOK OF JULIA BIRYUKOVA
A return to defense
Person of interest in outside agency’s custody lieutenant for the Kirkland Police Department. Kirkland police obtained a Kirkland Police are now search warrant on Wednesinvestigating the death of a day for the woman’s apart19-year-old woman in the ment and the surrounding Juanita neighborhood of area. Kirkland as a homicide. “During the initial search, Police have identified a a knife was located, but it person of interest in the death remains unknown at this of Scarlett Paxton and hope time if this knife was used in to have crime-lab rethe commission sults back before the of the crime,” said end of the weekend. Murray, noting the The woman was knife was found on found by her boythe landing of her friend early on the second-story apartmorning of Nov. 30 ment unit. with a neck wound. Kirkland police She later died in an detectives continue ambulance, police their investigation Scarlett Paxton said. with the assistance Police said the of the Washington person of interState Patrol Crime est is currently in custody Lab. in another jurisdiction on “We usually don’t get a unrelated charges. Kirkland lot of scenes like this here in detectives also believe there is Kirkland, fortunately,” Murno threat to the community. ray added. “The King County Medical The woman’s boyfriend Examiner has now officially called 911 at approximately ruled Paxton’s death as a 2:50 a.m. from the Hidden homicide caused by sharp Firs apartment complex in forced injury to her neck,” the North Juanita neighborsaid Mike Murray, operations [ more PAXTON page 2 ] BY MATT PHELPS
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mphelps@kirklandreporter.com
Man gets 40 months for threatening Kirkland officials BY MATT PHELPS mphelps@kirklandreporter.com
Kang boys hope defense takes them back to state The Kang boys basketball team captains (from left) Guy Lynott, Darien Nelson-Henry and Matt Staudacher, hope to return to state in 2012. For more on the team, see page 10. CHAD COLEMAN, Kirkland Reporter
Memorial brings friends, family of stabbing victim BY RACHAEL HARRIS Special to the Reporter
Family and friends of 19-year-old Scarlett Paxton gathered on Thursday night outside the Juanita Starbucks to remember the Kirkland woman, who was found dead by her boyfriend early on Nov. 30. Mourners packed around
a table covered with candles, flowers, and photos of Paxton. Many in attendance held candles, and tearfully shared memories of Paxton, who was a graduate of BEST High School in Kirkland. “She was an awesome, wonderful girl,” said Jonathan, a friend of the woman. “She was always there for you, and would listen to you.
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It breaks my heart she died so young.” Paxton was described multiple times by friends as special. Her kind disposition and goofily cheerful attitude set her apart from her peers. “She was crazy. There were no regular moments,” said Cody, Paxton’s ex-boyfriend. “If she had a bad day she [ more MEMORIAL page 2 ]
A Redmond man who threatened the Mayor of Kirkland and other government officials has been sentenced to 40 months in prison. David R. Myrland, 53, will be on federal supervised release for three years following his prison term and is required to repay the City of Kirkland $1,961 for police overtime costs. Myrland faced U.S. District Judge Ricardo S. Martinez Friday who told him, “The law applies to everyone … And the consequences of breaking the law apply to everyone as well.” Myrland claimed to be part of the “Sovereign Citizens” movement, based in Mount Vernon, Wash., which claims the laws of the United States do not apply to them. The [ more MYRLAND page 2 ]
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