In the Greenwood neighborhood of Seattle, a late-night routine turned fatal for 54-year-old David L. Peterson, a Caucasian male remembered as a kind and humorous man. On the evening of Sunday, February 23, 2014, he set out for his usual power walk, a regular part of his life. However, this night was tragically different. During his walk, he was confronted by assailants in what would be a fatal robbery. In his last moments, Peterson managed to call 911 to report that he was being robbed.
Shortly after 9 p.m., police responded to calls of shots fired near North 85th Street and 1st Avenue NW. When they arrived at a parking lot near the Greenwood Fred Meyer, they discovered Peterson, who had sustained a gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene. His wife, Kimberly Peterson, grew worried when he did not return home. Her fears were later confirmed when she learned of a deadly mugging in their neighborhood and that someone matching her husband's description had been brought to the morgue. Peterson was a U.S. Army veteran and had worked in the IT security field for over two decades before moving to Seattle.
Investigators began a search for three suspects seen fleeing the area: two Black men and a white woman. Police believed the group may have been involved in other robberies in the vicinity just before the shooting. The descriptions were initially vague, with one of the men described as being tall and thin, in his 20s or 30s, and wearing a North Face jacket. The community was left shaken by the violent and random nature of the crime that took the life of a beloved husband.
The investigation progressed, and an arrest was made shortly after David Peterson was laid to rest with full military honors. A student from Ballard High School, Byron White, was taken into custody at SeaTac Airport as he was allegedly attempting to leave the state. Authorities reported that White’s two accomplices identified him as the person who fired the fatal shot. The motive appeared to be a robbery for his cellphone.
