A Gig Harbor woman allegedly assaulted by her boyfriend last month died from her injuries Friday.
The Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office said Kathryn Southward, 29, died of blunt force injury, and ruled her death a homicide.
Her boyfriend, William Barry Selley, was booked into the Pierce County Jail on Sept. 28 and charged with first-degree assault. He was being held Sunday for investigation of second-degree murder, according to jail records.
Jail records show bail set at $1 million for the murder charge, and $500,000 for the assault charge.
Prosecutors and Selley’s attorney could not be reached Sunday night for more information on the case.
According to charging documents:
Selley called 911 Sept. 27 to say Southward had hit her head and was unresponsive.
Officials found her on the couch at the home where she lived with Selley. She had “significant contusions all over her body” and was taken to Tacoma General Hospital.
Selley told sheriff’s investigators he and Southward had drank heavily at a bar Sept. 23.
When they returned home, Southward fell over a step ladder and could not get up, he said, so he dragged her inside the house.
She might have fallen two other times on the way, he said.
Selley said he found Southward sleeping on the dog’s bed that night, and, as he tried to get her to go to bed, she fell again and hit the back of her head on the television, he said.
He denied assaulting her, and in a later interview said he didn’t remember anything else that might have happened before 5 a.m. that morning.
Selley said Southward remained on the couch for three days because of her injuries. He said he stayed home to take care of her, but did not take her to the hospital, because they had no insurance.
She vomited a dark substance and was increasingly unresponsive Sept. 26, Selley said. He brought his mother to the house, who told him to call 911.
Southward had three broken ribs, a partially collapsed lung and other internal organ damage, as well as bruises all over her body, according to investigators.
Southward’s family said there were earlier violent episodes between her and Selley, but Southward said she didn’t remember what happened and didn’t want to press charges. She admitted Selley had assaulted her before, according to charging documents.
The detective who talked with Southward in the intensive care unit after she was brought to the hospital Sept. 28 noted he had never seen a victim injured so badly who was not dead, the papers show.
When the detective, using a ruse, told Southward that Selley had confessed, she admitted he had assaulted her with his fists, according to the documents.
Alexis Krell: 253-597-8268
alexis.krell@thenewstribune.com
blog.thenewstribune.com/crime
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