Parents of slain mail-order bride want to stay in U.S.
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MOUNTLAKE TERRACE - The parents of Anastasia King, the slain mail-order bride from the former Soviet republic of Kyrgyzstan, are appealing to remain in this country for the rest of their lives to be near the body of their beloved daughter.
At an emotional news conference yesterday, King's mother, Alevtina Solovieva, told how she and her husband agonized over where to bury their daughter, and finally decided on the United States.
The only way to transport their daughter's remains to the family's homeland was to have them cremated first, but the Russian Orthodox religion forbids the practice, Solovieva explained through an interpreter. That, plus the prospect of inflicting further damage to the body, caused the couple to decide against cremation.
Because that means Anastasia King's body will stay in this country, they, too, wish to remain here.
And there's another reason, Solovieva explained:
"I was so pleased to find out (my daughter) had some very loyal and dedicated friends. And finding ourselves in this atmosphere of warmth and hospitality and friendliness, and seeing how profoundly her close friends were taking this tragedy, seeing the sincerity of their feelings, we felt such a joy in our hearts that we would like to remain forever with them."
Anastasia King traveled to the U.S. two years ago as a mail-order bride, marrying Indle King Jr., 39, of Mountlake Terrace.
Her life in the U.S. flourished in many ways, but friends say she grew unhappy at home and fearful of her husband. Indle King eventually began divorce proceedings.
After a trip to Kyrgyzstan to visit her parents in September - during which she was joined for several days by her husband - the couple returned to Seattle on Sept. 22. Anastasia King, 20, was never seen or heard from again.
Friends reported her missing, and in late December police found her body in a shallow grave near Marysville. Because of the body's condition, her parents were told the remains would have to be cremated before being transported back to Kyrgyzstan.
Authorities immediately arrested King, later filing preliminary murder charges against him. They haven't filed final charges but continue to investigate King's possible involvement in the crime.
He remains in Snohomish County Jail on a perjury charge in his wife's disappearance.
Prosecutors, meanwhile, have filed first-degree-murder charges against King's roommate, Daniel Larson, who told investigators he strangled Anastasia King at her husband's direction while King helped restrain her. Larson told police the two men were lovers.
Prosecutors have paid for Alevtina Solovieva and Anatolyi Soloviev to travel to Washington state so they can learn as much as possible about Anastasia King's life and state of mind just before her death. The couple, both music teachers, have a six-month visa but had planned to fly home this week. Their departure is now uncertain.
To stay, King's parents would have to meet the same criteria as any other immigrants, Irene Mortensen, a U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service spokeswoman, said Thursday night.
"The fact their daughter was murdered here and is buried here is not an avenue allowing them to stay here," she said.
In general, a person must have relatives already living here, a unique employment opportunity or fear of persecution in their homeland, Mortensen said. A member of Congress also could sponsor a bill to help a person immigrate, she said.
Yesterday, Alevtina Solovieva said she and her husband originally didn't want to make the sad journey to Washington.
Learning their daughter had died made them want to "just lie down in bed, fall asleep and never wake up again," she said.
But friends persuaded them to travel to here to help police and prosecutors solve their daughter's killing.
Ultimately, the decision to make the journey has been a good one, Solovieva said.
Working with law-enforcement officials, who have treated them with care and respect, has been gratifying, she said.
"I even took some joy in the work because it gave me a sense in some way that my daughter was still alive. As long as I talked about her, I sensed that she was near me."
Information from The Associated Press is included in this report.
Anne Koch can be reached at (206) 464-3303. Her e-mail address is akoch@seattletimes.com.