stab_northseattle.jpg
Richard Abker said he heard screaming when he pulled into the Krispy Kreme parking lot. "I couldn't see where the screams were coming from, but I followed until I could get close to them and then I turned around and I saw a man holding his hand up in the air, waving it and screaming," said Abker.(MyNorthwest.com Photo/Stephanie Klein)

'Good Samaritan' helps track down murder suspect

BY KIRO Radio Staff  on April 5, 2012 @ 3:44 pm (Updated: 9:29 am - 4/6/12 )

While a homeless woman sits in jail facing a murder charge, the 'good Samaritan' who helped catch her is trying to forget the horrible events from Monday afternoon.

Richard Abker had pulled into the parking lot between Jack in the Box and Krispy Kreme on Aurora Avenue.

"I heard screaming, so I kept driving. I couldn't see where the screams were coming from, but I followed until I could get close to them and then I turned around and I saw a man holding his hand up in the air, waving it and screaming," said Abker.

When he rolled his window down he could see blood on the man, and he asked what was wrong. The man said he'd been stabbed.

"He pointed and says 'Don't let her get away. Stop her! Stop her!' Something like that. So, my motor's still going and I did everything I could to keep eyes on her, down going south on Highway 99," said Abker.

He drove quite a ways, doubling back when traffic forced him to pass the woman. All the while, Abker said he was taking in every detail. He wanted to make sure he could identify her to police and, hopefully, tell them exactly where she had gone.

Abker followed her down SR-99 to a hotel where cops would eventually catch up with 23-year-old Karen Latham. Abker would later learn the victim, Zerabruk Habtemiriam, 54, did not survive the attack.

"I could tell by the way he was looking at me and screaming and trying to get his words out that he was in bad shape. I knew that. How bad, of course, I didn't know. I learned later that day that he had passed away, and I felt bad, very bad, that I wasn't able to do more," Abker said.

Habtemiriam was also just trying to do good. Police said he had given Karen Latham a ride and offered her some money for food. Latham didn't think the $5 he offered was enough and according to police, that's why she stabbed him.

"I couldn't even image anybody cold killing like that. I just can't imagine somebody knifing somebody. To me, it sounds like the person who did it just doesn't have a conscience," said Abker.

Even though the victim did not survive the attack, police told Abker he did all he could.

"There were two officers and a detective that told me that. They said, you know, you're going to be in shock, you're not going to be yourself for a few days. Treat yourself good because you actually did a great thing," Abker recalled.

Latham was charged with second degree murder on Thursday. King County prosecutors are asking for $1 million bail citing Latham as an extreme threat to the community. The potential sentence for the charge, murder with a deadly weapon, is 12 to 20 years in prison.

Abker said he has gained new respect for local police. Thanks to his accurate description, it took them just minutes to catch up with their suspect. Abker said he encourages others to do the same if they ever find themselves in similar, terrible situation.

97.3 KIRO FM's Kim Shepard and Ursula Reutin contributed to this report.

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Comments (12)


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  • regular joe 2u wrote...
    What a sad story to hear
    April 5, 2012 11:29 pm
    Mr. Abker,I hope you can deal with the awful ordeal you had to go through. Just remember you did help the victim by bring his to be murderer to justice.I just wish there was more people like you around this world.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • CH wrote...
    'Good Samaritan' helps track down murder suspect . . . .
    April 6, 2012 4:49 am
    the other 'Good Samaritan' is dead.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Burn_Notice wrote...
    Lost in the system
    April 6, 2012 5:09 am
    When America stopped treating mentally ill people they gave them two options homelessness or jail. I am sure we will find out this woman is mentally ill and to protect her civil rights we wouldn't force her to take needed medication.

    Now she will have to take it to be "sane" enough to stand trial, yet had she be forced to take it before she probably never would have killed the man. The irony of it is quite profound.

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  • jstumbo wrote...
    12-20 years?
    April 6, 2012 6:17 am
    Not enough. Kill someone with a deadly weapon and you should pay the ultimate price.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • roundemup wrote...
    Where's The Logic
    April 6, 2012 6:21 am
    How did it get to be that someone can murder someone else in cold blood and not get life in prison (I mean real life)? Ten to twenty years for murder? I don't care what degree it is or weapon they use, if you take a life, deliberately, it should cost you your life, behind bars or otherwise. Don't even get me started parole for good behavior.
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  • Skykomish2 wrote...
    Unfortunately
    April 6, 2012 7:20 am
    She'll probably get off because she was legally "insane" at the time of the crime. Thats wrong. The court should decide guilty or not. Black and white. Sentencing can then take into account extenuating circumstances. But guilt should be guilt - no matter what.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Sean wrote...
    WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS STATE???
    April 6, 2012 7:29 am
    As jstumbo said above -- this woman stabs a person to death in cold blood and faces 12 to 20 years in prison??? Are you KIDDING me??? What is wrong with the lawmakers in this state? Do they have a clue? Why is this the designated penalty for MURDERING someone????? And why do we elect people like this? This victim could have been any one of our loved ones, naive enough to try to help someone this way. So sad, She should be locked up for LIFE, PERIOD. I wonder what Rob McKenna and Jay Inslee would say about this.
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  • Ron_Spins wrote...
    Karen R. Latham's time in the "motorhome" was spent on
    April 6, 2012 8:30 am
    the south side of a Meth pipe. Find this Motorhome it is key to the crime.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Brulkikker wrote...
    'Good Samaritan'?
    April 6, 2012 11:06 am
    I'd like to point out that this person would have really beeen a 'Good Samaritan' if he'd stayed with the victim after realizing he was in a bad shape. In stead he chose to play detective by following the homeless woman while driving around with his car while leaving the victim, the only 'Good Samaritan' in this story, to bleed to death? Am I the only one seeing what's wrong with that picture?
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  • kurtthekraut wrote...
    Only thing wrong,.....
    April 6, 2012 11:31 am
    Is you jumping to a conclusion on what this person should or shouldnt have done. Im willing to bet alot of other people heard the screams and just to go the other way and not even investigate. Before saying he did the " wrong " thing. Walk in that person's shoes,...to say what any of us would or should do in a situation like that is completely unfair.
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  • Brulkikker wrote...
    So you know more?
    April 6, 2012 11:53 am
    The way the story is written the 'good samaritan' heard screaming, saw a guy in bad shape while bleeding and then went after the suspect who was walking away while doing some 'dangerous' U-turns in order to keep up. Of course more people could have come to help in which case it is nice that the suspect was caught, but that is not what the story says and to merely 'bet' on it is dishonest. What would I have done?... I don't know, but I would never leave somebody who is bleeding behind.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
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