An Army Ranger has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for murdering a security guard in what was described as an "unspeakably cruel" 10-minute beating. The victim's family believes this sentence is too light for the brutal and barbaric crime he committed.
Spc. Patrick Philip Byrne, 29, plead guilty in March to first-degree in the death of 41-year-old Denise Smith. The woman had worked just five shifts at the Frank Russel Building in Tacoma, Washington, before Byrne, who was 26 at the time, killed her in July 2021.
The vicious attack lasted between 10 minutes, according to the Tacoma Police Department. The soldier attacked the victim dragging her by the hair and punching her, before using her keys to stab her in the face in an apparent attempt to gouge her eyes out, according to court records.
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Detectives wrote in an affidavit that Byrne "dragged her around like a rag doll" while pulling her by her braids. The victim tried to get away but Byrne managed to pull her back and continue the assault. He then flipped the woman onto her stomach and choked her until she went limp. He then continued to choke her for a minute or two, reported The News Tribune .
Charging documents revealed that following the attack, Byrne tried to smash a window in a conference room and threw around furniture in the lobby before exiting the building. The murderer was then taken to a hospital where he told police officers he had no memory of what happened.
The victim was found unconscious by her colleagues in the early hours of July 18, 2021. They called the emergency services but she was sadly pronounced dead at the scene.
Byrne apologized to the victim's family in court, saying: "I wish I had never ever even been out here, then none of this would have happened. And Denise Smith, a great and wonderful woman, to be sure, she would still be alive and part of the world for much, much longer."
Ms Smith's eldest brother, Dennis Mack, said he would never forgive the killer. The victim's father, who identified himself as a veteran, wrote in a letter to the judge that his daughter was simply doing her job and not bothering anyone when she was killed.
Charles E. Reagins wrote: I, myself a U.S. Veteran, recognize that Patrick Philip Byrne is one of the Army's highest trained killers: An 'Army Ranger'. The actions of Byrne toward my daughter were brutal, savage, harsh, cruel, unnecessary and worthless! It was downright cold-blooded murder."
Ms Smith's sister Tina Mack said although she thinks a 20-year prison term is not enough for the crime he committed, she is comforted by the fact he will be in custody for the foreseeable future. "I just have to be thankful for what they gave him," Mack told Task & Purpose."
She added that even three years since her sister's death, it is still difficult to talk about her. She added: "Denise was extraordinary. “She was just the sweetest thing ever. She was so kind and so gentle."
Before handing down the sentence, Pierce County Superior Court Judge Stanley Rumbaugh described the murder as "callous" and "cruel", adding: "She was brutally murdered in an act that is as callous and as cruel as this court has ever had the misfortune of dealing with. It, it's really just unspeakably cruel."
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