Washington State

Office of the Attorney General

Attorney General

Bob Ferguson

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Olympia – A Cowlitz County jury returned a guilty verdict today in the Frederick Russell case. Russell was convicted on three counts of vehicular homicide and three of vehicular assault.

Russell had been standing trial following the 2001 car wreck that killed three in Whitman County. Shortly before the trial in 2001, Russell fled to Ireland. He was ultimately arrested and extradited to the United States last November. The trial had been moved to Cowlitz County to provide a jury unfamiliar with details of the case.

“I am gratified with the decision delivered today in Cowlitz County,” Attorney General McKenna stated. “This was a difficult, high-profile case and I’m proud of our prosecutorial team.

“The past six years have been difficult for the families,” he said. “While this verdict doesn’t erase the loss these families suffered, I hope that the verdict will provide them some sense of closure.”

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Contact:  J. Ryan Shannon, Media Relations Manager, (360) 753-2727

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