The Highline College Foundation will launch its Command Performance Series with a true crime listening event Tuesday, Oct. 27, at the newly restored Des Moines Theater, bringing together Green River Killer investigators, podcast creators and an attorney for a discussion focused on survivors.
A cocktail hour with a no-host bar and complimentary appetizers will run from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. The program is scheduled for 7 to 8:30 p.m., with an opportunity afterward for photographs with panelists.
The event will feature “The Shadow Girls” podcast creators Carolyn Ossorio and Branden Morgan, attorney Anne Bremner, former King County Sheriff Dave Reichert and retired sheriff’s Detective Tom Jensen.
Ticket purchases will support the foundation and partner organizations that help families affected by domestic violence.
Held during Domestic Violence Awareness Month, the evening also will highlight organizations serving women, students and families in Des Moines, Burien and elsewhere in South King County.
Ossorio and Morgan will discuss their work sharing the stories of people they describe as “imperfect witnesses.” According to the foundation, the program will include the account of a woman who survived the Green River Killer and provided a tip that ultimately helped lead to his capture. Attendees also will see previously unseen photographs from the investigation.
The panel will examine the investigation and how the neglect or dismissal of survivors affects victims, their families and society, the foundation said.
Jensen joined the Green River investigation in 1984 and remained involved for nearly two decades, later returning as a consultant after retiring. Reichert served as a lead detective on the case and, as sheriff, formed another task force that secured Gary Ridgway’s arrest and conviction.
Bremner, a former King County deputy prosecutor who specialized in sex crime prosecutions, will bring a legal and victim advocacy perspective to the discussion.
Before the panel, the foundation will recognize Highline College Women’s Programs, which offers academic advising, career exploration, individualized support and referrals to campus and community resources.
The evening also will spotlight Lighthouse NW, a Des Moines domestic violence service that helps women and children heal, and Soroptimists International Seattle South, which supports Hospitality House in Burien, two confidential women’s shelters in South King County and scholarships for Highline students. Highline’s nursing, legal studies and criminal justice programs also will be recognized.
The quarterly series honors Dr. Ed Command, Highline’s president from 1990 to 2000, and his vision of connecting the community with the college. Future events will explore different subjects, with geology, the Des Moines marine environment and musical performances among the possibilities outlined by the foundation.
