'We're so happy Dawn got justice'

Besides the unanimity in a jury's conviction Thursday of Larry Roedel, there was a unanimous opinion that the common-law wife he killed was a loving mother, provider, employee and friend.

"Everybody loved her," sheriff's detective Jeanne Landis said of Dawn Thompson. "The more people I talked to, it seemed like justice had to be served."

Thompson, 36, lived with Roedel, 68, at their Ferndale home until he shot her to death Aug. 27, 2005.

Landis said her investigation into the murder was unique because she "never spoke to one person who had a bad word to say" about Thompson. Most people have a skeleton or two that tumble out when she opens a closet door.

"She was as wonderful a person and a mother as you could imagine," said Jim Manley, who worked with Thompson at the Bigfork post office for nine years. His devotion to Thompson sent him to the trial of her killer, to watch testimony every day and shed some tears.

"There was never doubt in anybody's mind that he did it," Manley said of Roedel. The claim of "self-defense was ridiculous," he said.

"We're so happy Dawn's got justice," her sister, Merry Tyler, said after the verdict. Roedel is "a thief; he stole her from us."

"Dawn touched a lot of people," said County Attorney Ed Corrigan. "She was a kind and sweet, loving human being who wanted a safe and loving home in which to raise her children."

Thompson and Roedel, her first cousin, have five children.

"I hope her children appreciate how much she loved them and how special they were to her," Corrigan said.

Roedel's former wives told Corrigan that they were "physically, emotionally and mentally abused" by Roedel. Two told Corrigan that Roedel had told them he could kill them and no one would ever know.

It was that kind of environment in which Thompson lived, Corrigan said, and yet, she remained a person who had a positive impact on others.

"Even though she lived in a very restricted and controlled life with this man, she seemed to touch a lot of people," Corrigan said.