Long Beach killing has residents, tourists reeling
LONG BEACH, Wash. - A man who owned one of the largest fishing boat companies in the region is accused of murdering his ex-girlfriend in broad daylight.
Police in Long Beach said two officers witnessed the shooting - which happened at 4:41 p.m. Friday. Also witnessing the shooting were dozens of tourists in town for a car festival.
Sunday a memorial has been set up for 45-year-old Lisa Bonney just a few feet from where the trio of shotgun blasts ended her life.
"I knew something would happen," her sister, Kim Klingler, told KATU. "But I never dreamed it would be like this."
Bonney's oldest sister couldn't know the mother of two would die in broad daylight - with tourists nearby - and two police officers watching.
Long Beach police arrested 47-year-old Brian Brush, of Roseburg, Ore., after they said two officers saw Brush fire the shotgun into the grass. When they approached, he held up his hands and they found her body, shot in the back.
"She was walking away from the conflict," Klingler said. "It's very hard ... she was everything to me. She was there when no one else was there for me."
The shooting, at the beach during a popular car show, has rattled the town. And it has left locals wondering why.
Klingler said her sister ended her relationship with Brush two months ago. Then, she said, the stalking began and Bonney got a restraining order.
"She called me every night; she was scared," Klingler said. "I went with her a few times to make sure she got home okay."
Brush is well known to law enforcement. Since March, the Federal Bureau of Investigations has been investigating him for wire-transfer fraud involving his Roseburg business, North River Boats.
Now the fraud charge is secondary to first degree murder - as Bonney's family calls for justice.
"I would like to see either the death penalty," Klingler said, "or life in prison without parole."
Long Beach police tell KATU that Brush will be lodged at the Pacific County Jail in South Bend, Wash.