Michelle Thornton, 43, a lifelong Seattle resident and employee at the Upper Queen Anne Safeway, was found dead in her Belltown apartment on Thursday, January 6 by detectives from the Seattle Police Department missing persons unit. Yesterday SPD ruled the death a homicide, and is continuing the investigation to find out just what happened to her.
For years Thornton has thrown a New Year’s Eve party at her apartment, in the 100 block of Vine Street, which has a view of the fireworks at the Space Needle, according to a report by the Seattle Times. But this year friends became concerned when Thornton failed to answer her door or phone on the evening of the party, her father, Bill Thornton, told the Times.
After hearing from a number of concerned friends who had no been able to reach Michelle, Bill Thornton reported his daughter missing to police. He later learned that she had also failed to show up for work at the Upper Queen Anne Safeway on December 30.
Thornton’s last post on Facebook was at 2:55 a.m. on December 28. Friend and former neighbor Richard Bollinger told the Times that he last spoke with Michelle around midnight on December 29, adding that he called her on New Year’s Eve and left a message, and then called her back the following day, at which point her voice-mail box was full. Bill Thornton says this was the last confirmed time anyone spoke to his daughter. From the Times:
He said police went to his daughter’s apartment and did a welfare check early last week, but they could only briefly “look around” because they lacked a search warrant. Detectives later got a warrant and returned on Thursday, he said.
“She was in the closet, the back of the closet, which is why they didn’t see her” during the welfare check, Thornton said.
While Thornton said that his daughter’s personal life has been “troubled,” he also added that she had a lot of friends and was very active. Her death has been “a parent’s worst nightmare,” he told the Times.
Though the King County Medical Examiner’s Office has not yet released Thornton’s name officially, or cause the of death, SPD spokeswoman Renee Witt did confirm that investigators have ruled the incident a homicide.
Michelle is survived by her father, Bill, stepmother Jeanie Thornton, stepbrother John Hynd, and half brother David Scott Taylor.
Anyone who may have information about Thornton’s death is asked to call the department’s homicide unit at 206-684-5550.
Photo taken from Michelle Thornton’s Facebook page.