In the summer of 2017, a visit with a hopeful purpose turned into a scene of unimaginable tragedy for 51-year-old Kimberly J. Redford, a female from Missouri. She had traveled to Lacey, Washington, to help her daughter, Rachel Gardin-Gonzalez, pack up her life and move back home. This fresh start, however, would never come to be. On July 31st, the home on Crimson Court Southeast became the backdrop for a violent outburst that would end two lives and forever alter the course of several
others.
The catalyst for the day's horrific events was Kimberly's son-in-law, 32-year-old Ricardo A. Gardin-Gonzalez. Despite a court order to stay away from his estranged wife and children, he managed to enter the residence. Inside, he encountered his mother-in-law and shot her in the head, ending her life. His rampage did not stop there. When his 31-year-old wife, Rachel, returned to the house, she too was shot.
The violence spilled out from the confines of the home as Gardin-Gonzalez fled the scene, taking his two children, an 11-year-old stepdaughter and a 3-year-old son, with him in his estranged wife's car. This initiated a high-speed chase with law enforcement that weaved through the neighboring areas of Tumwater and eventually ended in west Olympia. During the pursuit, Gardin-Gonzalez fired at the pursuing officers. The chase concluded at an auto dealership, but before he could be apprehended, Ricardo Gardin-Gonzalez turned the gun on himself.
Back at the Lacey home, police discovered the devastating scene. Kimberly Redford was found deceased, and her daughter, Rachel, was gravely wounded. She was rushed to a local hospital but ultimately succumbed to her injuries. In the aftermath, Ricardo Gardin-Gonzalez was charged with two counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of his wife and mother-in-law. The charges against him also included child rape and kidnapping, painting a fuller, more disturbing picture of the day's tragic events. He was hospitalized in Seattle due to his self-inflicted gunshot wound, with a warrant issued for his arrest pending his recovery.
