Inquest answers family’s questions

Bill Gang

Monday, Oct. 4, 1999 | 10:05 a.m.

As the coroner's inquest began into the deaths of a jail escapee, his wife and two children, tension among the family of those who died was high and emotions were unrestrained.

Tears flowed and the mother of Puthea "Sophia" Lim -- who had helped her husband, Timothy Blackburn, break free from jailers -- was asked to leave the courtroom Friday because of her uncontrollable crying.

When the inquest ended with the jury concluding that Lim and her children were killed by Blackburn, who then shot himself in the head, the subdued family members walked quietly away.

Their attorney, Cal Potter, said the inquest was the first time the family had an opportunity to learn what actually happened on Aug. 29 in a Boulder Highway motel.

What the coroner's jury and the family members learned was that in the midst of negotiations to end the standoff, an errant shotgun blast set off a chain reaction that led Metro Police SWAT officers to storm the room.

That prompted Blackburn to fulfill his oft-repeated promise to negotiators that he would take his family "to heaven" with him if violent intervention occurred.

Blackburn was in a bathroom with his wife and children and shot each in the head before turning his .38-caliber pistol on himself. As Blackburn slumped against the bathroom door, two SWAT officers opened fire on him through the door in hopes of preventing the multiple deaths that they didn't know had already occurred.

It was Blackburn's self-inflicted injury and not the five police bullets that killed the fugitive, according to inquest testimony

The bodies of the girls, Tiara, 4, and Tiana, 5, were found in a bathtub.

"We were here to learn what happened," Potter said after the inquest. "It's important for the family to hear the side of the police department.

"Rumors had circulated, but there was no access by the family to police reports," he added. "This was the first chance to see what happened."

He said the inquest was also the first step in an evaluation to determine if a civil lawsuit should be filed.

"This is a very unique situation because the police also were victimized by the circumstances," Potter noted.

FBI Agent Henry Schlumpf testified that progress was being made during his three hours on the telephone with Blackburn and Lim toward a bloodless resolution.

Schlumpf told how he was in the midst of discussions with Lim about her insistence that she shouldn't have to serve any jail time for her role in helping her husband escape when the inadvertent shot was fired.

The federal agent said the telephone went dead and seconds later the deadly incident was concluded.

SWAT officers had been instructed to storm the room at the Budget Suites at the first sound of a shot, according to testimony.

Metro Officer Nevin Hansbarger testified that he was "slinging" his shotgun over his shoulder when the trigger apparently caught on his pistol holster and discharged a round that narrowly missed his own foot.

Hansbarger, a Metro officer for 13 months who had more than 20 years in the military, said the shot was "not intentional."

He had been assigned to a location near Blackburn's room to guard against the fugitive burrowing through a wall to escape.

Blackburn had been in the North Las Vegas jail on Aug. 11 when he escaped with the help of his wife. He was being held since 1998 on charges of armed robbery for a holdup at a bank's ATM repository.

Coroner's inquests are conducted when police are involved in the death of an individual.

In the 85 inquests since 1976, there has been only one instance in which officers were ruled to be criminally negligent, although that was later overturned by a grand jury.

Friday's verdict after 40 minutes of deliberations was somewhat unusual because the conclusion that the deaths were at the hands of Blackburn meant the jury did not have to rule on the police actions.