On a Thursday afternoon in Tacoma, Washington, 42-year-old Hispanic female Maria Nunez was with her family in the city's Salishan neighborhood, a visit that tragically turned into the final moments of her life. It was October 21, 2021, and Maria had just picked up her 19-year-old son, Emery Iese, from his job at a doughnut shop. They stopped by her mother's home, where they met her brother, 22-year-old Raymond Williams, and his girlfriend, also 22, Natasha Brincefield.
As they gathered in the alley behind the house, a gunman appeared and opened fire.
The friendly gathering was shattered by the sound of gunshots around 4:22 p.m. A witness inside the home looked out to see a man with a gun. Maria was shot as she tried to get out of her car. Three of the victims, including Maria, were found in the alley, while her son Emery was chased to the front of the house and shot. Maria, Emery, and Natasha were pronounced dead at the scene, while Raymond was rushed to a hospital where he also succumbed to his injuries. The Pierce County Medical Examiner's Office later confirmed their deaths were homicides caused by gunshot wounds. The community and their families were left in shock and disbelief, describing the victims as having no known enemies or affiliations with gangs or drugs.
The investigation into the quadruple homicide led Tacoma police to a suspect who lived just blocks away from the scene of the crime. On October 29, 2021, 22-year-old Maleke Dominique Pate was arrested at his home. A search of his residence uncovered a 9mm handgun and ammunition that matched evidence from the scene. Investigators could find no clear motive for the killings, noting the only connection between Pate and the victims was that he had been in the same fifth-grade class as one of them.
Maleke Pate was charged with four counts of aggravated first-degree murder. After a trial where prosecutors argued that Pate's motive was simply to experience what it felt like to kill someone, he was found guilty. In May 2024, Pate was sentenced to four consecutive life sentences in prison without the possibility of parole. The sentencing brought a legal conclusion to a case that had deeply affected the Tacoma community, though it could not erase the profound loss felt by the families of Maria Nunez and the other victims.
