According to the police officials, the 26-year-old Army ranger pleaded not guilty Friday to killing the 41-year-old woman while she was on duty at an office building in Washington. Prosecutors charged him with two counts of first-degree murder, first-degree burglary and two counts of first-degree kidnapping.
His name is Patrick Byrne and he was out drinking with friends and got into a bar fight where he was punched in the face. He then left the bar and walked in the direction of the building. He approached the front door and the security guard motioned for him to leave. When he didn’t, the security guard, Denise Smith, opened the front door and he tried to barge past her.
‘During that time the defendant repeatedly punched the victim with his fists, and he grabbed her by her braid and ‘dragged her around like a rag doll.”
The ranger also seized her keys and used them to stab her face before choking her until she went limp after an attack lasting eight to 10 minutes. After abandoning her body, Byrne smashed a window in a nearby conference room and began throwing furniture around. He then jumped 14 feet from a landing and was seen lying on concrete. When the officers arrived, he alleged that he had been stabbed and sexually assaulted but there was no evidence of this. Byrne is being held at Pierce County Jail after a judge set bail at $2 million.
