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Man accused of beating a Tacoma security guard to death appears in court
Pierce County man accused of brutally beating a Tacoma security guard to death made his first appearance in court. Documents claim the JBLM army ranger was so intoxicated that he did not remember committing the crime.
TACOMA, Wash. - Authorities say a security guard found dead in downtown Tacoma was severely beaten by a U.S. Army Ranger after she tried to stop the intoxicated man from entering a building, according to court documents.
On Friday, Pierce County prosecutors charged 26-year-old Patrick Byrne, who is stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, with two counts of first-degree murder, first-degree burglary and two counts of first-degree kidnapping. It wasn’t immediately clear if Byrne had an attorney.
The 41-year-old victim has not been publicly identified. She was found about 6:10 a.m. Sunday in the lobby of a building where she’d recently started working.
"Detectives who later examined the victim reported that the victim was unrecognizable due to the severity of the injuries that were inflicted on her," prosecutors wrote in charging papers.
According to charging papers Byrne was out drinking with friends in downtown Tacoma and got into a bar fight where he was punched in the face. He then left the bar and walked in the direction of the building.
Authorities say Byrne approached the front door and the security guard motioned for him to leave. When he didn’t, the security guard opened the front door and Byrne tried to barge past her. The security guard grabbed his shirt to stop him.
That’s when he began beating her for 8 to 10 minutes, records say.
"During that time the defendant repeatedly punched the victim with his fists, and he grabbed her by her braid and ‘dragged her around like a rag doll,’" prosecutors wrote in charging papers.
Byrne told detectives he did not remember the attack, according to authorities.
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