4-year-old saw her mother mortally wounded on floor of Forks house

FORKS — A 4-year-old girl alerted law enforcement to her mother’s injury from the house where Laranda Konopaski, was mortally wounded, court records said.

Mariah Konopaski phoned 9-1-1 at 5:09 a.m. Sunday, saying her father, Moises Ramirez Matias, 25, had stabbed her mother, 18, and that her mother was dead, said a Forks Police Department probable-cause statement.

Ramirez Matias, who also uses the alias Dario Ramirez Moises, was arrested without incident Wednesday on Merchants Road in Forks for investigation of premeditated murder-domestic violence in the death of Laranda Konopaski.

He was charged with the murder Tuesday in documents filed in Superior Court.

The murder occurred in a trailer at 1205 S. Forks Ave. that had bloodstains “from one end to the other” and a bloodstained kitchen knife on the bed in the master bedroom, said Officer Gene Hoagland of the Forks Police Department.

“Mariah was in the house,” Mariah’s aunt, Melina Harris of Seattle, said Wednesday.

“That’s the most horrid thing.”

Laranda, lying in a hallway, was treated by emergency medical services personnel but died later at Forks Community Hospital, Hoagland said.

The girl told authorities that during an argument between her mother and father, she saw Ramirez Matias take a knife from the kitchen, saw her parents in the bedroom, then saw her mother lying on the floor with a neck wound that was bleeding.

“[Mariah] made a horizontal motion from one side of her neck to the other while describing the wound on Konopaski,” Hoagland said in his statement.

A family member will apply for permanent custody of the girl, who last fall had extensive surgery at Seattle Children’s Hospital for a bowlegged condition she has had since birth, Harris said.

“She was smiling and glad to see some family yesterday, and she gets to see family today, too,” Harris said Wednesday.

A savings account — No. 9930468963 — that will be turned into a trust account for Mariah has been set up for donations at any Sterling Savings Bank, Harris said.

“She is effectively an orphan,” Harris said.

________

Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-417-3536 or at paul.gottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.

More in News

A member of the First Night Circus performs her routine at the American Legion Hall in Port Townsend during the First Night activities produced by the Production alliance on New Year’s Eve. (Steve Mullensky/for Peninsula Daily News)
First Night festivities

A member of the First Night Circus performs her routine at the… Continue reading

Dave Neupert.
Judge becomes Clallam coroner

Charter still must be amended

The Upper Hoh Road is closed at milepost 9.7 after heavier flows eroded pavement.
Upper Hoh Road closed after river erodes pavement

Jefferson County lacks funding for immediate repair, official says

Port of Port Angeles to discuss surplus of property

The Port of Port Angeles will hold the first… Continue reading

Todd Shay of the Port Angeles Parks and Recreation Department lowers the flags in front of City Hall on Monday to honor Jimmy Carter, the 39th president of the United States who died Sunday at the age of 100. The flags will stay at half-staff until the end of the day Jan. 28 by order of the governor. (Dave Logan/for Peninsula Daily News)
Honoring President Carter

Todd Shay of the Port Angeles Parks and Recreation Department lowers the… Continue reading

911 call center making changes

Traveling dispatchers, AI part of solutions

Jefferson County grants $800K in lodging tax

Visitor center, historical society among applicants

Colleges ‘not optimisic’ on state financial error

Peninsula College would owe $339,000

Wednesday’s e-edition to be printed Thursday

Peninsula Daily News will have an electronic edition on… Continue reading

Volunteers sought for annual Point in Time count

Olympic Community Action Programs is seeking volunteers to assist… Continue reading

Two men taken to hospitals after crash

Two men were taken to hospitals following a collision on… Continue reading

Coho to undergo scheduled maintenance

Black Ball Ferry Line’s M/V Coho ferry will be… Continue reading