Photo from National Masters News
Willie Venable
Teen arrested in former track star's beating death in downtown Seattle
By Jennifer Sullivan
Seattle Times staff reporter
A teenage boy has been arrested in connection with the Seattle beating death of a local track-and-field star, a former decathlon competitor who returned to racing after a 30-year break.
Willie Venable, 56, of Kent, was in and out of a coma for more than a week before he died Monday at Harborview Medical Center, his friends said. A 17-year-old boy is believed to be among a group of reportedly five males who attacked Venable on a sidewalk near First Avenue and Pike Street in the early evening on Aug. 26, police spokeswoman Debra Brown said. Police are still investigating.
Though Venable was often a loner, he loved to talk about his track-and-field competitions, said Dave Pedersen, a former co-worker and friend for more than 25 years. The Kent apartment Venable shared with his cats, Miss Perkins and Bad Bob, was decorated with ribbons and medals.
Venable grew up in Virginia and was recruited by the University of Washington for the long jump, said longtime friend Francine Adams of Tacoma.
"The man could jump like no one you had ever seen before," she said. "He qualified for the Olympics." But he never went, she said, because of tensions in Munich in 1972.
Though Venable was a regular competitor in local decathlons in the mid-1970s, fellow racer David Ortman said he disappeared from the track-and-field scene until about a year ago. When Ortman saw his old rival at a race for senior-age competitors, Venable was out of shape but seemed excited about his return to racing.
"He was always really upbeat," said Ortman, a Seattle attorney. "He could do these amazing splits, even at his age, like a cheerleader could do. The flexibility was amazing."
At the Washington Senior Games in Olympia in June, Venable won the 50-meter race for the 55-59-year-old age group.
"He was very proud of his medals," Pedersen said. "He had 100 to 300 medals in his apartment."
Though Venable was an expert when it came to cars — he spent more than 20 years inspecting new cars shipped to Kent via railroad for damage estimates — he didn't drive. Instead, he ran, walked, or sometimes took the bus, Pedersen said.
Details about what happened Aug. 26 are unclear. A police report said Venable suffered a large abrasion to the back of his head and was unconscious when taken to Harborview. Witnesses said the attackers ran after the assault, the report said.
"If anyone would have approached, Willie he would have smiled and tried to diffuse any situation," said Adams, a friend for nearly 40 years. "He was a strong man and in shape, but he would not have done anything aggressive at all."
Pedersen said authorities told him that Venable died from the beatings and that his relatives had finally been reached.
The King County Medical Examiner's Office said Thursday the investigation is pending.
Jennifer Sullivan: 206-464-8294 or jensullivan@seattletimes.com