Editor's note: This is the first of a two-part report on the July 7 deaths of Taunya Hilliard and her son, Spencer Hepko. The Wenatchee World has gathered information from family members, Child Protective Services and police and court records.

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A personal note lies at Porter's Pond at the foot of 19th Street along the Apple Capital Recreation Loop Trail in East Wenatchee for Spencer Hepko and Taunya Hilliard. (World photo/Kathryn Stevens)

By Jaime Adame

World staff writer

EAST WENATCHEE — Child Protective Services had some contact with Taunya L. Hilliard, the woman police say shot her 9-year-old son before turning the gun on herself near the Apple Capital Recreation Loop Trail in East Wenatchee.

But no active case involved Hilliard at the time of the July 7 shooting, said Connie Lambert-Eckel, a deputy regional administrator for the state division of Children and Family Services.

And Hilliard's brother said — despite his sister's prior drug abuse and an earlier suicide attempt in 2005 — things were looking up since her marriage to Sam Hilliard. The couple was living together with Spencer in East Wenatchee at the time of the shooting, according to police.

"Over the last two years, while Taunya's been married to Sam, things have been wonderful," said Brandon Jones. In 2000, Jones for a time had legal custody of his sister's three children, he said.

Ups and downs in his sister's life included a 2005 divorce, during which letters filed in Chelan County Superior Court described her as an angry woman who worried her family.

Still, Jones said he knew of nothing troubling his sister recently. He said their mother spoke with Taunya three days before the shooting, and "everything seemed completely fine."

'A really good mom'

Hilliard, 37, was found dead on the riverbank in the area known as Porter's Pond, a semi-automatic gun in her hand and a two-page handwritten note on the ground, police said. Her son, Spencer Hepko, had been shot in the head, and he died two days later at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

Family members have referred to Spencer as Spencer Hepko-Hilliard, but his name is Spencer Hepko on his death certificate, according to the King County Medical Examiner's Office.

Spencer was the child of Hilliard and her second husband, Mark Hepko. Before that marriage, Hilliard — who grew up Taunya Jones in Silverdale — had two children with her first husband.

"She, for a long time, was a really good mom. I know that's going to be hard for people to grasp," said Jones in a phone interview July 14. When he was closest to his sister, "her home was always clean, the kids were always clean and happy," he said.

Still, Jones said he phoned Child Protective Services several times over the years to report his sister neglecting Spencer.

"All of this started when she started using drugs," said Jones, 33, adding he never thought his sister physically abused her children.

Documents released by the Kent Police Department show in 2000 Child Protective Services stepped in after a report of abuse involving Mark Hepko, Spencer's father and Taunya's husband at the time. The documents suggest the investigation did not center on Spencer Hepko.

Mark Hepko later received a suspended prison sentence. In an e-mail interview, he called the shootings "the most tragic event of my life." He said he hadn't seen Taunya in more than six years or Spencer since 2002, except for at the hospital after the shooting. Hepko confirmed he and Taunya began using methamphetamine in 2000, two years after they were married.

Jones said he and his wife, April, were living in Monroe when they took custody of Taunya's three children. His sister was living in Kent at the time, he said.

Two children went to live with their biological father, while Spencer stayed with Jones' family for eight months, Jones said.

These concerns continued for years after his sister regained custody of Spencer, said Jones, now living in Mill Creek. He added that he called CPS numerous times, rarely hearing back from the state agency.

In the last two years, however, Jones said he thought his sister was no longer using drugs. He said he filed no complaints with CPS during this time, and described his sister's husband, Sam Hilliard, as "an amazing guy" who helped his sister quit drinking. Sam Hilliard did not respond to interview requests.

State, court involvement

In 2003, Taunya Hepko was convicted of driving under the influence in Douglas County District Court. The conviction is the only entry in her online criminal history, according to a Washington State Patrol database.

Court records show that in 2004 she married Brian Brons in East Wenatchee. The marriage would end about a year later.

In 2005, several letters written to Chelan County Superior Court described Taunya Brons as an angry woman, even as she sought a protection order against her husband.

"Taunya has a serious anger problem," wrote her sister, Tammie Riddell, in a letter filed in court.

Shortly before that letter, Riddell had called the Douglas County Sheriff's Office to report that her sister threatened her over the phone. No charges were filed. Riddell declined to speak with a reporter in the days after the shooting.

Taunya Brons had claimed that Brian Brons was peeking in her windows and leaving her notes and letters in her car at work. She also claimed he had verbally threatened an unnamed friend.

A judge decided not to grant a more permanent restraining order. Brian Brons did not respond to interview requests.

Jones said his sister had troubles, including involvement in an abusive relationship with a boyfriend, whose name he said he didn't remember, and a suicide attempt. Jones said the suicide attempt occurred in 2005 somewhere in the Wenatchee area.

"I don't know what kind of pills, but she took some pills," Jones said.

"I spoke with her the next morning," said Jones in a phone interview this morning, adding that he also heard about the incident from a relative. He said he thought his sister had been upset after a dispute with a boyfriend.

After the incident, his sister voluntarily agreed to temporarily give up Spencer, and Jones said he cared for Spencer for about two months that summer, a transfer that he said involved state welfare workers.

"He went back to her right before school started," said Jones, adding that he remained concerned about Spencer's welfare.

Lambert-Eckel declined to give details about CPS' involvement with Hilliard and her son, citing the ongoing police investigation. She did confirm that CPS had involvement with the family in two places in the state, including the Wenatchee area.

Another welfare official said CPS does not automatically remove a child if there is a parental suicide attempt, but welfare workers rely on mental health professionals to decide what to do. A suicidal parent is offered services such as counseling, said Sharon Gilbert, deputy director for field operations in the state Children's Administration, a division of the state Department of Social and Health Services.

Gilbert said welfare authorities were not required to investigate because they had not provided services to the family within the previous year, but a formal review was expected to take place anyway to study how welfare authorities handled complaints and delivered services to the family.

Jones said he doesn't think CPS handled his earlier complaints correctly, some of which he made out of concern for Spencer after his sister moved to the Wenatchee area.

"I'm not saying that I blame CPS for what's happening right now," Jones said. "What I'm saying is, if they had done a better job in the time reports were being made, she may not have had custody of him."

Jaime Adame: 664-7144

adame@wenworld.com