'I think of her every second of the day'

In the two years since their daughter's murder, Anatoliy and Alevtina Soloviev have wondered whether they tampered with fate when they encouraged her to move to Washington and marry a man she didn't know.

Tears stream down Alevtina's face as she looks through photos of their smiling daughter, Anastasia, that were taken after the striking blonde moved to the U.S. in 1998 from her native Kyrgyzstan to marry Indle King Jr., who had found her in a catalog of prospective brides.

In March, King was sentenced to more than 28 years in prison for the 20-year-old woman's murder and for a related charge of witness tampering. Prosecutors said during his trial that King killed his wife to avoid a costly divorce and so he could find a new mail-order bride.

"I think of her every second of the day," Alevtina said through a Russian translator. "The pain is in our hearts."

Life in the U.S. has been a horrifying transition for the couple, who moved to the country two years ago. They watched as King, the man they believed would give their only child a life better than anyone in Kyrgyzstan could offer, was convicted.

In Kyrgyzstan, the Solovievs' lives included teaching at a music school and living in a house that Anatoliy had built. Now they live in a small basement apartment in South Everett and struggle to make ends meet.

Alevtina teaches piano to several children she met through their church, and Anatoliy splits his days between flipping burgers at a Jack In The Box and cooking at a Pizza Hut. Both take English classes.

The Solovievs filed civil suits against King and co-defendant Daniel Larson, who was sentenced to 20 years for his role in Anastasia's murder. Larson, who was a tenant in King's Mountlake Terrace home, strangled Anastasia with a necktie while King sat on her.

On Dec. 3, the Solovievs reached a settlement in their suit against King. Fred Diamondstone, a Seattle attorney representing the Solovievs, said King's parents had deposited $13,500 — money from the sale of their son's house — into the registry of the court.

Because Larson and King have appealed their convictions, Diamondstone said he will ask the court to turn over the money to the Solovievs if the appeals are rejected.

Meanwhile, the Immigration and Naturalization Service has granted the Solovievs default status, which means they can live and work in the U.S. while they wait for their immigration status to be completed. Though the couple miss Kyrgyzstan, they hope to stay here permanently so they can be close to their daughter's grave at Floral Hills Cemetery near Lynnwood.

Bernice Funk, a Seattle immigration lawyer who is handling the Solovievs' case, said she had helped them apply for humanitarian visas available to crime victims.

After arriving in the U.S. last January — weeks after Anastasia was found dead on the Tulalip Reservation — the couple learned that their daughter's body could not be flown to Kyrgyzstan unless it was cremated, which is forbidden in their Russian Orthodox religion. So they had her buried at Floral Hills.

The couple talked excitedly about their recent purchase of two burial plots next to Anastasia's grave. Alevtina said they look forward to death so they can be reunited with their daughter.

"Right now we're between heaven and earth," she said.

Jennifer Sullivan: 425-783-0604 or jensullivan@seattletimes.com.