Seattlepi
Carolyn Piksa, a longtime Seattle Parks and Recreation department
employee, was ordered held on $1 million bail after police said she shot
fellow employee Bill Keller on Friday and also confronted another parks
employee at the Bitter Lake Community Center.
The 46-year-old waived her right to appear at her bail hearing, which
was held at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at King County Jail. The small courtroom
was packed with television cameras, which chased after one of Piksa’s
elderly relatives despite her saying she didn’t want to talk.
Court documents submitted by police say Piksa admitted to the
shooting and the confrontation at Bitter Lake, and that she stole the
purse of the woman she allegedly confronted.
Piksa in her driver's license photo. (SPD)
Her nephew, Cody Shearer, told reporters that Piksa had suffered emotional trauma that affected her.
In 1985, Piksa’s sister and that woman’s husband were killed in an
execution-style shooting in a Pierce County cemetery. Last year, her
Burien home was burglarized and her dog, Roulette, was killed. That led
to her feeling unsafe and paranoid, Shearer told reporters.
While Piksa didn’t have a criminal record in Washington – traffic
tickets and a civil matter are her only court cases – an arrest warrant
had been issued for her in Marion (Ore.) County. Oregon State Police
records show an unlawful firearm possession case was filed Dec. 3, and
Piksa’s address is listed as the Burien home where police arrested her
Friday afternoon.