Family says well-loved mother of 7 was found shot in Tacoma Park, killer still on the loose

Tacoma, wash. – A mother of seven was found dead in a Tacoma park, and police are trying to find the person or people who killed her.

Someone spotted her underneath a table in the picnic shelter in Oakland Madrona Park off of South Madison Street, and called 911 at around 8:30 am Monday.

“We have a neighborhood chat, a neighborhood watch,” said Nathan Carlisle, a neighbor who lives near the park. 

It was around 8:30 am Monday when neighbors like Carlisle began getting texts and notifications that a woman had been found dead under the picnic shelter.  

He says his wife heard something loud  overnight, but the park is poorly lit, and it’s not uncommon to hear noises that sound like gunfire in the area.   

They say they learned that she was beaten and shot in the head, then left in the park until someone spotted her underneath a picnic table and called 911.   

Neighbors hope the city cracks down on the violence and other activity that is playing out in the park. 

A child overdosed in the same park in 2022 after finding and eating a fentanyl pill near the playground.  An officer was credited at the time with saving the child’s life.  Neighbors tell us that they don’t let their kids play in the park anymore due to the growing number of dangerous incidents there.  

“Hopefully, maybe this will get them in gear.  I don’t know how many bodies have to be sprawled out over Tacoma for them to kind of start policing people,” said Carlisle.