Last Saturday marked the one year anniversary of the shooting death of Paul Rainey. The family held a memorial celebrating Paul’s life at EchoValley, where Paul worked as a ski instructor.

 

More than 60 people gathered, skied and shared stories and memories with the Rainey family and friends.

 

Twenty-Two year old Steven Swinford is less than a week away from facing a jury for the second time, accused of murdering Paul a year ago.

 

The first trial ended in a mistrial, however at a pretrial hearing last Friday, it was announced that Superior Court Judge Leslie Allen will replace T.W. “Chip” Small for the second trial.

 

It was also ruled that new evidence would be allowed pertaining to the length of time Swinford served in the military along with Swinford’s evolving story of the night of the shooting, starting with the 911 call, to the much different story he told in court.

 

If convicted, Swinford faces a likely 10- to 18-year prison term with a five-year enhancement for use of a firearm. The maximum sentence for second-degree murder is life.

 

KOZI maintains a near daily contact with the Rainey family, who is doing well, all things considered.

 

The seating of potential jurors begins next Monday morning. The expectation is that the trial will wrap up by the end of next week, and KOZI will be in the courtroom with exclusive live reports from Wenatchee as the trial progresses.