Police Seek To Dispel Somerset's Fears

-- BELLEVUE

Looking west at twilight from Somerset's main boulevard, the people who live in this affluent Bellevue community can see the lights and tall buildings of Seattle, where murder has lost some of its ability to shock.

But last night, Somerset residents turned their eyes to their own homes.

Last Wednesday, one of their neighbors was shot and strangled at midday. It was the first Bellevue murder in almost two years, and residents were hoping it might be the last for some time.

About 200 of them crowded into the Somerset Elementary School gymnasium and sat on folding chairs to hear what Bellevue police had to say about the killing of 71-year-old of Faye Chan Monwai.

Lt. Mark Ericks took the podium first, recapping the case, stressing that police believe Monwai was killed by someone she knew, not by a burglar or serial killer.

Ericks said police had formed their theory because it appeared Monwai, who apparently locked her door, had opened it to her killer - and because of a piece of evidence - something that had been taken from the home - which he declined to describe.

``You don't have to stay in the house in fear that we have a killer stalking the neighborhood,'' Ericks said.

For the most part, people were reassured. ``I feel better,'' said Mary Meier, 36. ``The one thing I came to see is if they thought that people were breaking into the houses. We do keep our doors locked.''

Police say they have no suspects in the case and very little physical evidence.

Police told the residents that Somerset, relatively speaking, has a low crime rate.

But to some residents, many of them retired, it doesn't seem that way. A number of them know someone whose home has been burglarized or they've been burglarized themselves.

``Our house got robbed, and it was a professional job,'' said Tony Peiffer. ``They took everything and stacked it. They sorted my wife's jewelry. They sorted all the silver and took only the solid silver.''

Last night's meeting had been scheduled for some time, and police had promised months ago to speak about home security and forming block-watch organizations.

The Monwai murder added immediacy and prompted a big turnout.

Although Monwai's was the first murder in Somerset, it was not the only big crime. Two years ago, a local woman was kidnapped, held for $100,000 ransom and left chained to a tree for almost two days with only a half can of Coke for sustenance by a disgruntled employee of her husband's.

The kidnappers were caught, tried and sentenced, and Ericks referred to that case when stressing the importance of paying attention to who is in one's neighborhood - a resident had written down the license number of the kidnappers' car.

That and Monwai's murder has made some people more uncomfortably aware that it's seemingly impossible to escape violent crime.

``I have become much more apprehensive and even less trusting than I was before,'' said Mary Jane Dunlap. ``This just confirms your fears that it's a scary place out there, and I hate it. You begin to think scary things, like `Should I learn how to shoot a gun?' ''

And although some residents needed to have fears allayed, others were more matter-of-fact, because of the particulars of the murder - and because they had their fears about it being a scary place out there confirmed long ago.

Monwai's family and friends are offering a $10,000 reward to anyone who leads police to the person who killed her. Anyone with information should call the Bellevue Police Department at 455-6917, or the Seattle/King County Crimestoppers tip line, 343-2020.