A Not-Guilty Plea In Eastside Murder

Tears flowed from the mother of murder victim Mary Ann Pohlreich yesterday when the man accused of beating her daughter to death proclaimed his innocence in King County court.

Nancy Pohlreich and her son Ed were among the family members who went to see the arraignment of George Waterfield Russell, 32, on charges of first-degree murder in the June 23 slaying of the oldest of eight children in the Redmond family.

Russell pleaded not guiltyto the premeditated murder charge.

Superior Court Judge Sharon Armstrong set a Jan. 24 hearing and said the issue of Russell's $500,000 bail would be argued later.

Russell, a suspect in other Eastside homicides, then stepped quickly back toward his jailers.

``I wanted to see what the guy looks like,'' said Ed Pohlreich, holding his infant son. ``Nothing's going to bring my sister back. I still can't comprehend it.''

``She wasn't just a sister, she was a friend,'' he said. ``Here is our beautiful little baby she never got to see. She loved kids.''

Prosecutors say Mary Pohlreich ran into Russell at an Overlake bar June 22 and that Russell was seen leaving with a blond woman by an off-duty police officer.

The next day Pohlreich's body was found about a mile away.

Nancy Pohlreich said the family is going to keep close to the case.

``We're just trying to deal with our grief,'' she said. ``We feel like this is the last thing we can do for for Mary. We're going to be here for everything.''

Ed Pohlreich, who said the family was very close, said, ``we're going to be following it every step of the way.''

``I want him to see how much we hurt.''