Mother of slain girl: ‘I don’t get Molly back’

Reliving the killing of Molly Conley during the trial of Erick Walker made Susan Arksey almost believe she would be getting her daughter back.

“As her mother, I don’t get Molly back,” Susan told KIRO Radio’s Ursula Reutin. “That seems like such an obvious thing to everybody, but it’s not for me.

“It almost feels like – going through this whole process – maybe I would get Molly back at the end of it, but I know it’s not true.”

Jurors found Walker guilty of manslaughter on Monday. He was accused of firing the shot that killed Molly in Lake Stevens about two years ago. He faces between 65 and 80 years in prison when he is sentenced April 21.

Related: Jury finds Erick Walker guilty of manslaughter in Molly Conley trial

Molly’s father, John, called the manslaughter conviction, rather than murder, a “miscarriage of justice.”

In the nearly two years since her daughter’s death, Susan tries to continue to honor Molly’s memory. That includes taking in foster babies.

“I feel very motivated by Molly in how hard she worked in her life,” Susan said. “I have tried very hard to live up to the expectations she would have had for me.”

Though she misses her daughter, Susan will continue to focus on how Molly lived, not how she died.