Garcia had history of violence: He allegedly stalked, terrorized girlfriend

By Christine Willmsen and Doug Merlino
Seattle Times staff reporters

Genaro Garcia set himself and his family on fire.

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It should have been no surprise that Genaro Remigio Garcia was capable of killing his estranged girlfriend, Antigone "Mona" Allen and her three children.

He stalked, threatened, fought with and terrorized her, according to police files and friends.

"All the signs were there that this could and would happen — definitely," said Elizabeth Gay, domestic-violence program manager for King County. "He was getting scary and he didn't have fear of getting in trouble."

On Wednesday, Garcia doused Allen, her children — Christine, 2-½; Kristian, 18 months; and Adam, 6 months — and himself with gasoline and set them on fire in his car, which then crashed near Bonney Lake.

	Antigone Allen died after fiery car cash.

They all died, but Allen lived long enough to tell police that Garcia had set them ablaze shortly after snorting cocaine.

One of Allen's best friends, Monica Kohl, described 24-year-old Garcia as a jealous, violent man who refused to share Allen with anyone.

"He didn't want another man raising her kids and he didn't want no other man to have her," said 17-year-old Kohl, who was close to Allen since the seventh grade.

Over the past two years Garcia had been accused of using his vehicle to hurt Allen, breaking into her apartment, pushing her down and stabbing Kohl's brother, according to police reports.

Kohl said Allen often tried to get out of the relationship, which began when she met Garcia at a grocery store about three years ago. She was 15 and three months pregnant with her first child.

"Mona didn't want to go back to him," said Kohl's sister, Amanda. "He was insanely in love with her. He must have thought they would only be happy together if they all died together."

Gay said it's not unusual for perpetrators to kill their children.

"Batterers feel entitled, like they own the person they are with and the ownership may extend to the kids," she said.

"Mona was Geno's first love even when she had that baby by another man," Monica Kohl said.

Police, family and friends are unclear about the paternity of the three children, but Kohl said Garcia was the biological father of 1-½-year-old Kristian.

Garcia, a roofer and construction worker, lived with Allen off and on and financially supported her, paying the rent and buying food and diapers for the children.

Garcia always was in control and Allen often relied on him, according to the Kohls. When Allen started seeking independence, Garcia became more violent.

In December 2002, police responded to a fight in which Garcia slammed his vehicle into a car that Allen was in and threatened her. But when police informed Allen that Garcia would be criminally cited, she changed her story and blamed it on a friend.

But she was so scared of Garcia after breaking up with him that she stayed in motels on South Tacoma Way, at her mother's house and with friends, Kohl said. When they fought, Allen often escaped to the Kohl house in Parkland.

Garcia frequently drove past the home looking for Allen and "roasted his tires," said 16-year-old Charles Kohl.

On Feb. 23, Garcia was driving through the neighborhood and spotted Charles Kohl jogging late that night, he said. Garcia confronted him and stabbed him in the back, according to the police report.

Almost one week later, when stopped by deputies, Garcia admitted to stabbing Kohl but said it happened during an altercation with several males. Deputies confiscated the knife Garcia used to stab Kohl and arrested him on suspicion of first-degree assault, residential burglary and fourth-degree assault March 2. It wasn't clear why he was arrested on the burglary and fourth-degree assault, but he was released the next day.

According to the incident report, Garcia told deputies "that he just wanted to see his kids before he moved to California. He said that he realized that Allen was with a new guy and became very irate."

Charles Kohl doesn't understand why Garcia never was charged with stabbing him. He said he feels that the Pierce County Sheriff's Department ignored him.

"We booked him and the prosecutors decided to not press charges," said Detective Ed Troyer, the Pierce County sheriff's spokesman.

Garcia was arrested again on June 15 on suspicion of domestic violence after Allen said he pushed her down, hurting her knee. When police arrived Allen said she had hidden Garcia's gun in the closet because she "was afraid he was going to do something stupid with it," according to the incident report.

He posted bail and was not charged with a crime.

Then on June 24, Allen reported to deputies that Garcia broke into her apartment in Puyallup. According to the Pierce County Sheriff's Department incident report, he took $150 in cash, destroyed a kitchen table and stole her clothing and one of the children's mattresses. The next day, Garcia left a note at Allen's mother's house, stating he was going to continue to stalk her, Kohl said.

Troyer said a deputy stopped by Allen's apartment several times, attempting to get more information and to provide assistance. Allen told the deputy that she had gotten her clothing back from Garcia, that he had quit his job and that he again said he had plans to move to California.

Several days before the fiery crash that killed everyone, Garcia was seen by Monica Kohl driving around Allen's apartment.

Domestic-violence advocate Gay said Allen was trapped in many ways.

"The reality is that she dropped out of high school and had three children to support," Gay said. "She was dealing with someone who wasn't leaving her alone."

Christine Willmsen 206-464-3261 or cwillmsen@seattletimes.com

Seattle Times staff reporter Jonathan Martin contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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