(The Center Square) – Convicted triple murderer Timothy Pauley could, at least technically, get another chance at freedom.
The Indeterminate Sentence Review Board is again considering his case because when former Gov. Jay Inslee approved his release in January, which was followed by Gov. Bob Ferguson denying his release in March, Pauley’s sentence was basically vacated until a new decision is made by ISRB.
“At the last hearing conducted by the Board, it was determined that Mr. Pauley was releasable. Since the Governor overturned that decision, the Board needs to set a new minimum term of confinement. That decision will be posted on our website on or before October 7, 2025,” Rebecca Torrence, ISRB executive assistant, emailed The Center Square on Wednesday.
More than 45 years have passed since Kelley Tarp’s father, Loran Dowell, and his coworker, Bob Pierre, were robbed, tied up inside a walk-in cooler at the Barn Door Tavern in Sea-Tac, and then shot in the back of the head and killed.
Pauley and his accomplice, Scott Smith, intended to rob the place, but things turned far more violent.
Loran’s wife, Margaret Dowell, as well as Linda Burford and Sherrie Beckham, all worked at the bar. They were forced to strip naked and were tied up inside the women’s bathroom. Cords were tied to railings and around the women’s necks in an attempt to choke them to death.
Buford was taken out into the main bar area, where she was raped and then hanged from the railings until she died. Pauley, who was 21 at the time, and Smith, who was 29, left the tavern thinking they had killed all five of their victims. But Dowell and Beckham successfully played dead – and survived.
Tarp was just 13 years old in June 1980 when she lost her father. She told The Center Square of her surviving mother’s decades of reliving the trauma of that night and how it has impacted their entire family to this day.
“Our families have gone through hell and back again, and we deserve some justice and some peace,” she said during a Tuesday interview. “Our mom was promised she would never have to worry about them getting out.”
Tarp’s mother passed away last year.
As reported by The Center Square, Pauley was sentenced to three life terms, as the death penalty was not an option in Washington state.
In 2015, ISRB determined that due to Pauley’s good behavior behind bars, his sentence should be reduced from just over 33 years to just over 28 years. That put Pauley in line for potential release in February 2018. That was denied until 2022, when ISRB determined that Pauley should be released.
After meeting with the victims’ families, Inslee canceled Pauley’s parole, stating the convicted killer had not shown sufficient remorse.
On his last day in office in January, Inslee unexpectedly reversed his earlier cancellation, once again clearing the way for Pauley’s release.
As reported by The Center Square, Ferguson – now governor – then met with the victims’ families, including Tarp and her sister, and ultimately blocked Pauley’s release, citing concerns about a lack of true remorse.
“We’ve got two governors who have overturned and have looked at the file in its entirety and found that his rehabilitation on paper looks like he’s done some work, but in reality it’s all been a check mark in a box in terms of reading a book and taking a class, but it hasn’t equated to true remorse and rehabilitation,” Tarp noted.
She suggested that Pauley has not truly changed in any way to earn release, saying that reading books and taking courses mean nothing
“I can read books on how to do open-heart surgery and how to be a surgeon, but you don’t want me to cut you open and do heart surgery on you,” Tarp said. “Just because somebody can read books and take classes doesn’t mean it equates to somebody who’s rehabilitated and deserves to be released after the murders that he committed.”
Tarp and her family, as well as other representatives of the victims, planned to attend Wednesday’s hearing, but would not be allowed to offer any input beyond earlier statements given to ISRB members.
“They’ll come to a decision in terms of what his new minimum term should be. Our family believes that it should be a minimum of no less than 10 more years added to his sentence,” she said. “He’s very smart and very manipulative and always has been. And that’s what is beyond frustrating for us. To have to read the material and understand he’s going to have supporters is one thing. But to read how he’s manipulated and turned everything to make it sound like he’s the victim. It’s a slap in our face and adds to the injustice.”
