Stanwood teen had lived in fear of ex-boyfriend, family says

By Peyton Whitely, Michael Ko and Jennifer Sullivan
Seattle Times staff reporters

Dayna Marie Fure

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Eighteen and about to graduate from high school, Dayna Fure's life was just beginning.

At 23 and angry over the end of his relationship with Fure, Mainor Valentin apparently thought he had little to live for.

For the relatives and friends of the two young people, little else is clear as they struggle to understand the shootings Monday that have left both families devastated and rocked the small town of Stanwood.

Sometime Monday, police say, Valentin went to Fure's Stanwood home and fatally shot her before taking his own life. The bodies were discovered at about 5 p.m. that afternoon after Ben Fure, Dayna's father, returned from his job at Twin City Foods in Stanwood.

About two months ago, Fure ended her two-year relationship with Valentin and began dating someone else. But Valentin was unhappy about the breakup. He had threatened to kill himself and began stalking Fure at work and elsewhere, according to a protection order she filed in Cascade District Court earlier this month.

Fure's family say she did everything she could to protect herself from Valentin. After Valentin obtained a gun and threatened to commit suicide, Fure sought and was granted a protection order that barred him from coming within 1,000 feet of her home, her workplace and Stanwood High School. Her family said she even changed her hairstyle and had taken to riding in different cars to avoid being followed by Valentin.

Valentin's sister said yesterday he was "devastated" when their relationship ended, but his family believed the couple had remained friends and continued to see each other. They had no idea Fure had obtained a protection order against the young man known as Mario. They said they also don't know where he would have obtained a gun.

"He appeared that he had moved on," said his sister, Marta Valentin, 27.

The last time Valentin's family saw him was Sunday evening at their home in West Seattle. When he left, they assumed he was going to visit Fure in Stanwood.

"I wish I knew what was going through his head, but I don't know," Marta Valentin said. "We're angry, we're upset, we're confused, we're pained and sad. ... I can't bear the thought of her dad finding them like that."

Ben Fure also is angry. Part of that anger is directed at police and fueled by his perception that they could have done more.

"The police didn't do a very good job, as far as I'm concerned," said Fure.

But police said Valentin never threatened anyone other than himself.

However, Danielle Fure, Dayna's older sister, said Dayna expressed fear for her own safety in the protection order issued May 14. She sought the order after Valentin showed up outside her job at a Stanwood retirement home armed with a gun and threatening to kill himself.

Dayna Fure wrote that Valentin had never directly used weapons to threaten her, but she was nonetheless concerned for her safety: "... under the influence of alcohol (he) did threaten the safety of my co-workers and myself in his actions on May 13," she wrote.

Following that incident, police took Valentin into custody and he was taken to Providence Everett Medical Center's Colby Campus for a mental evaluation. Cheri Russum, spokeswoman for the medical center, said such evaluations are used to determine whether a patient is a danger to himself or others. However, she couldn't speak specifically about Valentin's case.

Police yesterday declined to comment on the case, saying it's still under investigation.

June Wiley, of New Beginnings for Battered Women and Their Children in Seattle, said that by threatening to kill himself, Valentin, in fact, placed Fure's life in danger. Wiley said people who voice suicidal tendencies in reaction to something gone wrong in a relationship are more likely to kill the other person as well as themselves.

"He had all the classic red flags. This guy was on the edge," said Wiley, who is the organization's community-advocacy program manager.

Ben Fure said when he left for work Monday at about 5:30 a.m., Dayna was still asleep. She wouldn't leave for Stanwood High until about 7:30.

"He knew my schedule," Ben Fure said of Valentin. "That was his window of opportunity. He probably got here about 6, 6:30."

Dayna's Ford Probe was parked on the grass in front of the house when he left, Fure said, and it was still there when he returned home.

"I worked an hour of overtime," he said, and got home about 4 p.m. "I actually sat here (in the living room) and didn't even know they were dead."

But Dayna hadn't gone to school or work that day and didn't answer calls to her cellphone. Fure eventually went to look in her bedroom while talking on the phone to Danielle.

That's when he found the bodies. Fure said there appeared to be no signs of a struggle, such as overturned furniture, he said. A .357 Magnum handgun also was found, said Mike Fure, Dayna's brother, who said he believes entry was gained through a window on the north side of the house.

Found near the window were Valentin's black leather jacket and his car keys. Peyton Whitely: 206-464-2259 or pwhitely@seattletimes.com; Michael Ko: 206-515-5653 or mko@seattletimes.com; Jennifer Sullivan: 425-783-0604 or jensullivan@seattletimes.com

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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