Mortician Lunges at Niece’s Killer

September 23, 2007

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The uncle of a murder victim is waiting to hear if he’ll be held in contempt for a violent outburst in court.

It happened on Thursday at the sentencing of Jeramy Lofstrom, who admitted to the brutal stabbing death of his wife. The victim’s uncle, a

mortician, was the one who put her back together after the slaying.That uncle, Douglas Ticknor, read an emotional statement in court on Thursday,”Jeramy, your very existence is evil,” he said.Ticknor’s niece Sarah is dead. Her killer, her husband Jeramy Lofstrom, sat just a few feet away, listening to the words.

Then, in a heated moment, Ticknor reached over the table for Lofstrom as court security officers rushed to his side, yelling “don’t do it.”

But if you just see an uncle’s angry outburst, you’ve missed the reasons why this normally quiet man lashed out.Ticknor spoke to KOMO 4 News one day after the outburst.”I’m still angry. I’m embarrassed in all honesty. That’s not me,” he said.

Family members are always kept a safe distance from any murder scene. But as a mortician, Ticknor volunteered to restore his niece’s body.

“It was the only thing I could do. I can’t bring her back,” he said.

He spent 13 hours meticulously working to restore Sarah so family and friends could view her in an open casket.

“It was the most horrific experience of my life, but I’m glad I did it and I would do it again,” Ticknor said.

And so it is with that backdrop that Ticknor lost control of his emotions.

“I saw no remorse, I saw no care at all (in him). The more I read the more angry I got and that led me to do what I did. Just something at the last second said ‘no, it’s not done’ and I did what I did and I jumped at him,” he said. “I was within about a foot of him.”

When asked what he would have done to Lofstrom if he had reached him, Ticknor said, “I’d have hit him, which, in the scheme of things, isn’t any big deal. I’d probably hit him a lot.”

But court security didn’t let that happen, for which Ticknor is thankful. It could have landed him jail.

When court resumed, Lofstrom was sentenced to 28 years in prison.

And Ticknor said he will be outside the prison waiting for his release when court security won’t be around.

The sheriff’s office says Ticknor is not going to face criminal charges for what he did, but he could still face contempt of court from the judge.

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