Originally published March 16, 2009 at 2:45 PM | Page modified March 16, 2009 at 5:25 PM
Comments (0)
E-mail article
Print
Share
Pierce County man charged in ax attack that killed wife, stepdaughter
A 52-year-old Pierce County man has been charged with two counts of aggravated first-degree murder in the slaying of his estranged wife and her daughter on Friday night.
Seattle Times staff reporter
A 52-year-old Pierce County man was charged today with two counts of aggravated first-degree murder in the slayings of his estranged wife and her daughter on Friday night.
Prosecutors said it was too soon to comment on whether they will seek the death penalty against Charles Walter Nettlebeck.
Nettlebeck is alleged to have struck both women in their heads with an ax, according to court documents. Barbara Jo Nettlebeck, 52, was dead when deputies arrived at her Orting-area home. Her daughter, Bretta Joan Hawkins, 33, died Saturday night at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
Nettlebeck and his wife were in the midst of a divorce. In January, Barbara Jo Nettlebeck, a King County corrections officer who worked at the Regional Justice Center in Kent, filed for divorce after a three-year marriage, according to Pierce County Superior Court records.
Hawkins worked at the front desk of the Renton Police Department for seven years, according to Paul Cline, patrol division commander.
In divorce papers, Barbara Jo Nettlebeck called her husband "violent and very controlling."
The attacks happened in the 27200 block of 168th Avenue Court East near Orting, where Pierce County sheriff's deputies responded to a 911 call at 10:30 p.m. Friday from a man who said he had just assaulted his wife and stepdaughter.
Neighbors said the couple had held a garage sale hours before the fatal attack.
Copyright © 2009 The Seattle Times Company
![]()
UPDATE - 09:46 AM
Exxon Mobil wins ruling in Alaska oil spill case
NEW - 7:51 AM
Longview man says he was tortured with hot knife
Longview man says he was tortured with hot knife
Longview mill spills bleach into Columbia River
NEW - 8:00 AM
More extensive TSA searches in Sea-Tac Airport rattle some travelers

general classifieds
Garage & estate salesFurniture & home furnishings
Electronics
just listed
2007 Ranger Z20 Comanche
2009 Polaris Ranger 700 EFI 4x4
Award Winning Designer Furniture Sale - Gar...
More listings
POST A FREE LISTING
- Agency set to investigate handling of 911 call about Josh Powell
- Proposal to link Market, aquarium may be too ambitious for Seattle
- Chilling 911 tapes reveal pleas for help to go to Josh Powell home
- UW's Shawn Kemp Jr. makes own way despite familiar name, number | Steve Kelley
- State Medicaid to quit paying for ER visits deemed unnecessary
- NBA's David Stern open to league returning to Seattle
- Prosecutor: Powell's final act ends doubt he killed wife
- Was idea of court-ordered test too much for Josh Powell?
- Local aerospace suppliers say they feel squeezed by Boeing
- California gay-marriage ruling may affect Washington
- Gay-marriage bill passes House, awaits Gregoire's signature
340 - Sheriff's office unhappy with 911 dispatcher in caseworker's call
238 - Romney's bad day is Santorum's best in GOP race
188 - Gay-marriage ruling may affect Washington or Prop. 8 ruling could reach into Washington
177 - State Medicaid program to stop paying for unneeded ER visits
168 - Historic day for gay marriage as another fight looming
154 - 3 big health insurers stockpile $2.4 billion as rates keep rising
122 - Study shows link between payroll and wins not as big as before, but teams like Mariners still face bigger obstacles than others
102 - Source: NY, California to sign mortgage settlement
81 - Lakewood cop accused of taking donations for slain officers' families
72
- State Medicaid to quit paying for ER visits deemed unnecessary
- Here it is: The secret to stir-fried chicken | Taste
- Local aerospace suppliers say they feel squeezed by Boeing
- 3 big health insurers stockpile $2.4 billion as rates keep rising
- Dicks channeled federal money to Puget Sound project his son ran
- Buttoned Up: Nine immutable laws of time management
- Happy Hour: French-accented charm at Gainsbourg
- 'Gauguin and Polynesia': dazzling mix-and-match | Art review
- Gay-marriage bill passes House, awaits Gregoire's signature
- Agency set to investigate handling of 911 call about Josh Powell
