Major crimes in the city and in the neighborhood, including robberies, are trending downward, according to 2010 numbers just released by the Seattle Police Department.

As of the end of 2010, Violent Crimes were down by 9% compared with 2009, led by a 20% decrease in robberies. Property Crimes were down by 5% across the City, with a slight increase only in vehicle thefts.

In Queen Anne the trends are pretty much the same. Here are some numbers for crime in the police precinct that most resembles the neighborhood (SPD divides Queen Anne into three beats–Q2, Q3 and D1).

Robberies: There were 36 robberies between the three beats in 2010, compared to 66 in 2009.

Burglaries: There were 352 assaults between the three beats in 2010, compared to 373 in 2009.

Car Theft: There were 227 car thefts between the three beats in 2010, compared to 203 in 2009.

Homicide: There were no homicides reported in any of the three beats in both 2010 and 2009.

Larceny: There were 1,539 larceny thefts between the three beats in 2010, compared to 2,056 in 2009.

Assault: There were 316 assaults between the three beats in 2010, compared to 373 in 2009.

To find more information about crime statistics in the neighborhood, check out SPD’s crime stats map, and general citywide crime data.

[Editor's Note: these year totals were calculated by hand based off of SPD's 2010 and 2009 crime statistics, which are divided by precinct and month.]

On Saturday, February 26 Seattle Police Department homicide detectives arrested a suspect in the murder of Upper Queen Anne Safeway employee Michelle Thornton, according to the SPD Blotter.

Thornton, 43, was found dead in a closet in her Belltown apartment on January 6, after being reported missing by her father. Concern over Thornton’s whereabouts arose after several friends were unable to reach her on New Years Eve, when she had planned to host a party.

According to a report by The Seattle Times, the suspect is a 40-year-old man. He was arrested in Seattle on Saturday morning with the assistance of the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force, and has been booked for investigation of murder.

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.