On the late evening of April 11th, 2024, [music] officers from the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office responded [music] to a local casino after receiving reports that a man had a violently dragged his girlfriend out of the building, then texted close friends [music] threatening that he would skin her alive. This claim prompted an immediate response from the Pacific Northwest Violent Offender Task [music] Force, who were able to pinpoint the suspect's location by pinging the girlfriend's [music] cell phone. This signal led police to a nearby stretch along State Route 525, [music] at which point Snohomish County Sheriff's officers raced to the location and quickly initiated a pursuit. But, they remained unprepared for the sheer devastation that awaited them. >> I tried to pit him. He's going the wrong way. I'm terminating. Okay, minor injury, he's crashed out. Yeah, we got a crash out. He's heart eight. Where's he at? Where's he at? He's right here. He's right here. Get on your face. I'm not. I'm Down on the ground. Down on the ground. Arms out. Arms out. >> Okay, we need this whole highway shut down now. You got any weapons on you? >> No, no. Car's on fire. Please don't let me die. Please don't let me die. It's on fire. Please help me. Please. Hey, it's going to die. Get her away from the car. Please don't let me die. Please. Please. Please don't let me die. Please don't let me die. Baby lights, it wasn't me. I am. Please. Hey, don't move. You guys yelled me against my will. They know they have to talk to Officer Gel. One Charles two, I got one entrapped, non-responsive. Ma'am, can you hear me? Ma'am, can you hear me? They're not They're not responsive. Ma'am, can you hear me? Fire extinguisher. Extinguisher. Is Tommy alive? Is Tommy alive? Hey. Is he alive? >> Roll up on your side. You got any weapons? >> I don't know. My My My leg is broken. Tommy is alive. Roll up on your side. >> I can't. No weapons on you? No. No. No. Oh my god. Knees up. Yeah. Oh, no. He's not moving. Why did he do this? Please hurry. You said your leg's broken, which side? >> This one. This one right here. This one? Yeah. Okay. We're going to have aid here in a minute to evaluate you in a minute, okay? Is he alive? That's all I care. I just don't want him to be dead. Oh my god, is he alive? That's all I need to hear. I just want to know he's alive. That's all I need. We can probably yank him out before this thing goes up. Warning. Yeah. Put your hands up, Robert. Both hands up. I got your leaf on this. Just so you can see his left hand. I've got your leaf on this. >> Hey, I'm going to need help to rip this guy out. All right, Jared. I'm on you. Let me get gloves. I don't know if he's I don't even know. Can we come out the front or no? What's his name? Robert? Robert, can you hear me, buddy? Get Can we get a push bar up here and we can just pull him up off? Okay, buddy. Robert, can you hear me? Listen to us. We're going to get you out. He's There you go. Right there. Watch. Got him. Yeah. All right. Hold on. Turn over. No one cares about right now. Okay. Fire. Yes. Let me know if you know, yeah. Are you breathing all right? Your lungs hurt? Okay. I'm going to help hold your hand, okay? I'm going Huh? Oh my god. What's better for you? You want to sit up on your butt? Would that hurt more? Thank you so much. What's your name? Your Kelsey Martin. Kelsey Martin. Okay. Just Put your head down. What about my dad? Okay. We'll work on that for you, okay? Thank you so much. Thank you so much. I just I just want to know he's alive. He's alive. Okay. Oh my god. It's over. All right. Oh my god. It's over. Pull him on his side. Pull him on his side. Face the tape. Good condition, buddy. Any head trauma or anything? No [ __ ] way. Once police secured the utterly horrific scene and detained the suspect, they quickly shifted their attention to the victim struck during the chase. Urgently rushing over to her vehicle, [music] police tried to get a status update on her condition. >> Ma'am, can you hear me? They're completely stuck in there. Uh no response. No. Yeah. Where are you hurt besides your head? Everywhere? Huh? Eight's trying to come through that way. Hey Robert, do me a favor. We're going to put you back on your side, okay? I know. Oh, don't do that. Please don't do that. Okay. Can you move this one? Oh, no, no, no, no. Please don't do that. I don't have nothing on me. I don't care. Please. No, I'm not I'm not searching. I'm just trying to get you into a comfortable spot, okay? I'm comfortable enough. But I don't want you on your stomach or your back, all right? Go Go down there. Go to that car. What's that smell? Um The rest of it's clear. She's Yep. In front? Yeah, I got no pulse. She hasn't responded. I tried to Are they code black up there? I know. He's moving. He's not responding. Can you hear me, ma'am? What did you see exactly? Like which which What did you see? Pick up truck just came flying up this uh ramp right here, just flew straight past me, almost hit me. Okay. >> And then just smashed into whoever that was. Okay, so he hit a car. Yeah, he hit a a car. Not that way. All right. Um I'll just have you write a quick statement about what you saw. There's a pen on there for you. Didn't see much, but I'll write what I saw. >> whatever you saw it's They're okay. What we're figuring it out. Yeah, let's see if he cooperates. Thank you. Which arm's broken? Your left one or your right one? Uh my left one. All right, you're safe. Can you stop the bleeding on my arm? This was a what When did you break it? 2 days ago? Yesterday? Uh 2 days ago, miss. Yeah. Oh my god, it's over. It's over. That's right. >> It's [ __ ] cold. You want the handcuffs off your back? These are all fairly loose. >> Oh, oh. Hang on, bud. Oh, no, no, please. Oh, oh, no, please, no, oh, oh. I know you're not trying to fight. You're just trying to get you into a spot where you can keep breathing and stuff, okay? >> I don't mean it that way. Oh god. I know it's going to be cold, but we got aid here. They're going to prepare you, okay? And make sure you don't have any injuries, okay? Just focus on your breathing. I think something's wrong with my lung. Okay. Well, as long as you're breathing, I'm happy and you're talking, okay? Thank you. Can somebody pull up my pants? My ass is hanging out. Here, hold on. Can you tuck this in? Put that over her. This side? That coat piece over her. >> Thank you. >> You're back. Yeah, I just want my ass hanging out. Thank you. It's all good. It's not hanging out or nothing. Is my face okay? Yeah, your face is fine. You're talking, that's a good sign. I'm so glad it's over. All right, we're going to get you a blanket, all right? >> Thank you. What do you want me to do? Oh, let it show me there. You You got to just keep talking, okay? You know, lift your head up off the ground a little bit. Yep. We're just trying to get you to stop bleeding, all right? What's that? Kelsey's Kelsey is okay. So, she's awake. It's really important to keep you warm, so we're going to give you this cool uh Oh, all right. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Thank you. Hey. We're talking underneath your arm, so that's It's broken, too, so be careful. Be careful. We're just trying to Oh, thank you so much. Thank you so much. Thank you guys so much. Is that family okay? I'm not sure. I cleaned out here. Does anybody know if any of the cars are okay? Uh no, I wait. Good job. Oh my god. After being unable to communicate with the victim, EMS was swift to arrive on scene. However, upon checking on her, they soon revealed the tragic news about her condition that everyone had feared. Hey, ma'am. Uh they're working it out right now. I don't I don't think so. I can't feel anything right now. I think we're DOA here. I'm going to wait till some other people get here. I'm going to get her on a monitor just to verify that I don't have any rhythm or anything. What's that, buddy? You kidding? You have that last cigarette? I think uh I think we're kind of beyond that right now, okay? Hi there. How was he stuck with you? Like Like he was hanging out the window. Oh. Okay. Probably not. That's why I'm doing photos real quick cuz Just yeah, while she's in there before they take her out. All right, some people are coming over to help you, some firefighters, okay? Okay. Thank you so much, John. You're welcome. Left arm, left leg. Right leg. Hi. What's hurting you the most right now? What's probably the worst? They're going to touch it. Uh-uh. What's that? >> to touch it. >> Uh well, they're So, this foot here, and then which arm? You can squeeze my hand. Yeah. Did you lose [snorts] consciousness? >> No. No, did you hit your head? >> No. No? I don't think I'm going to Something like this right here. Okay. How did you get out of the vehicle? >> Were you wearing your seat belt? >> Yes. Okay. Did the airbags deploy inside? Good. Let's just get her off of the road. Let's grab our gurney. We got hands here. Just put her on the backboard. We'll hold C-spine, get her into the back, and then we'll need one more unit to help us. This is a very high mechanism. I want to protect you from any, you know, any more spinal injuries if you have any. I think, based on mechanism, probably ALS. Yeah. But we can treat it BLS for right now. Yeah. What a night. Can I read that? Okay. Make good. Okay, it looks good. Sorry my handwriting here. >> Oh. Probably the best I've seen today. You're good. Uh let me get this line through, and then I'll get you out of here, okay? >> Okay. I appreciate your patience, sir. Do you remember the whole event? Okay, is anything hurting you right now? Okay, can you Can you help me take your sweatshirt off? And then we'll get She's awake. What do you mean it's on its side? Uh your car is on its side. It is uh it's in a wall on its side. I'll pick up the trash. Kelsey, I'm going to put a little neck brace on you real quick, okay? Okay. I'm good. Do you know if the other people are fine? It's all right, I'll go and look over. You've got her neck. Thank you, John. You're welcome. Sorry for the discomfort. We're going to do it in one movement, okay? I think I'm good. All right, one, two, three. Clear. Let's get her down. Nice job. All right. I'll follow the suspect. Where are they going with I think they're probably going to go Hey, which bus is he going in? Uh Medic 15. It's that further one down. I'm going to Harborview with him. You're going to Harborview? >> Yeah. I'll just stick around here, okay? Knowing the gravity of the situation, detectives raced to the hospital to ask the suspect dire questions about the situation, hoping to understand the motive behind his reckless actions. I see the sheriff here. Okay, got it. Hey, I got a question for you. Yeah. Did you guys get blood at all? No. Do you think [music] they'll give him blood? I think so. Okay. They think they're going to give him blood. He wants ex-gen blood draw before we do. They may have already given blood. They didn't give blood. It wasn't available for us, but it it to be done for the DUI. You're doing okay, my friend? Chelsea, I don't know I'm not sure we're focusing on you, okay? Well, well, well, try to update you as soon as we can, okay? Chelsea. Chelsea. He's got to go. Thank you. Right arm, I got the time. I wanted to ask you some questions about what happened tonight, okay? Are you aware that you're under arrest currently? Um, yeah. All right. You want to talk to me? Um Do you remember what happened tonight? No. Okay. Do you remember anything at all happening before you got here? Do you remember driving a car tonight? >> Chelsea? Tell him to stop. Chelsea. Do you remember driving a car tonight? No. You think so? Do you remember trying to be stopped? Do you remember where you were driving at? I don't know where. You were driving where? I don't know where. In Lynwood? Where's the last place in Lynwood you remember driving? I don't know where. You said Lewis? I don't know. Are you friends? Friends. Yeah. Do you remember anything else while you're driving? No. No. No. I don't know where to go. You're not sure right now? Um, Robert and his girlfriend were transported to a local area hospital for their injuries. While Robert and his girlfriend were treated for their injuries and later released, tragically, despite the life-saving efforts of police and emergency responders on scene, the victim, 83-year-old Trudy Slanger, was pronounced deceased at the scene. When our mother left for church that day, she was happy, healthy, and looking forward to the week ahead. On her way home, just 2 minutes from her house, her tiny body, barely 120 lb, was destroyed upon impact. You're under the trauma of losing her life this so suddenly, so violently, so senselessly is something her family will carry the rest of her life. Her absence has changed every part of who we are. It was a really unfortunate thing that happened and I take responsibility for it as well. I was in the vehicle and we made a horrible decision and it cost somebody their life. The suspect, 37-year-old Robert Rowland, has an extensive criminal record dating back to the year 2000 where he was alleged to have brought a weapon on school grounds among many more charges leading up to this tragic situation. In this case, Robert Rowland initially faced charges of first-degree murder, vehicular homicide, vehicular assault, taking a motor vehicle without permission, attempting to elude, hit-and-run, fourth-degree assault, and fourth-degree assault domestic violence. However, preceding his latest court hearing on December 2nd, 2025, the court dropped every charge except for first-degree [music] murder, which was later reduced to second-degree murder and vehicular assault. At the time of his arrest, Rowland had outstanding warrants for unlawful possession of a firearm and first-degree assault. He was sentenced to 27 years in prison and 36 months of community custody upon release. For the crime of murder in the second degree, you were sentenced to 324 months in prison. Robert will be released in the year 2053 when he will be 64 years old.