Hundreds pay tribute to grandmother killed in carjacking

Community pays tribute to the grandmother killed in Seattle carjacking

Melanie Roberts gave an emotional tribute to her grandmother, Ruth Dalton, as walkers on two and four feet took to the streets to honor the legacy of one of their favorite members of the community.

SEATTLE - "I’m holding it together for her," said Melanie Roberts, Ruth Dalton's granddaughter.

Melanie Roberts gave an emotional tribute to her grandmother, Ruth Dalton, as walkers on two and four feet took to the streets to honor the legacy of one of their favorite members of the community.

"There is a lot of people expressing their love and there has been for the last two weeks, it’s really been an amazing outpouring of support," said Roberts.

Security video, released this week, shows the moment Jahmed Haynes is accused of carjacking grandmother and dog walker Ruth Dalton as she was parked with a carload of dogs in Seattle's Madison Valley neighborhood.

Seattle Police say she was forced out of her Subaru when Haynes got into the passenger seat. During the struggle, Dalton was run over and killed. Haynes took off and was later arrested.

Friends, family and neighbors described Dalton as a wonderful person, who absolutely loved animals. On Wednesday night, they held a memorial walk in her honor to remember the legacy she leaves behind.

Sally Wolf and her dog Ziggy were Ruth's clients.

"She would sit with him, come over in the evening, watch TV, hang out with him. It was sort of a match made in heaven," said Ruth, pictured with Ziggy below.

The walk started near the flower-filled memorial, marking the spot where she died.

"She was just a wonderful addition to our community and everybody just misses her dearly," said Gina Purdy, walk organizer.

Roberts expressed her appreciation to a man named John Ayala, who rushed to Dalton's side to give her CPR that day. He was in attendance at Wednesday's walk.

"John, you helped the heart of a person with the biggest heart in the world," said Roberts. "Her heart was so big and so strong and couldn’t hold anymore love, that it broke that day."

She also thanked Damon Koler, the plumber who grabbed a bat and broke the windshield of the stolen Subaru as the suspect tried to get away, freeing some of the dogs inside.

"I feel honored, I don’t know. There’s a lot of emotions I’m still dealing with," said Koler.

Melanie gave Koler a toy bat to express her gratitude.

"First my son is going to rob all the candy out of it, then it’s probably going to go on the wall," said Koler.

The two men pictured below helped lead the walk to Madison Park, where Roberts again called them heroes.

"She was a fighter, you fought alongside her, you allowed her to go out on her terms, she was fighting for her dogs, for her customers, for her life, she was fighting," said Roberts.

"It was amazing, it really made me realize how respected and loved she was," said Koler.

The mayor also offered condolences.

"This was an act of pure evil. Let's not mince words, but she’s going to bring out the best in us today," said Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell.

"No one in their wildest dreams could imagine someone as good through and through as Ruth Dalton could come to that kind of end," said Wolf, Dalton's long-time dog walking client.

"She would be amazed at the outpouring of support; she knew her clients and I don’t think she knew how far her touch reached," said Roberts.