Suzanne Thorne, 15: A gregarious teen who liked music, partying

Tuesday, March 28, 2006

Students at Robinswood High School said Monday they'd like the Bellevue alternative school's flag flown at half-staff for a fallen friend -- Suzanne Thorne, 15.

"There's no reason not to," said Kris Pidgeon, 16, as students tried to fathom how and why one of their former classmates wound up dying so violently, one of six victims of Saturday's Capitol Hill shooting rampage.


	Thorne

"It's horrible," said Pidgeon, cradling a skateboard after school. "You don't hear about murders and death here. The more I think about it, the more it impacts me. It's weird talking about it."

Thorne attended Enatai Elementary School in the Bellevue School District in 1997, then switched to Robinswood's middle school program in sixth grade, said Anne Oxreider, district spokeswoman.

But her attendance was "erratic" and Thorne left Robinswood in February 2005 before graduating, Oxreider said.

Fellow students say they remember the outgoing Thorne because of her ever-changing haircuts, her vivid personal punk style, and her love of people and "having a good time."

"You'd notice Suzanne," said Mathias Judnich, 17. "She was a punk-rock girl; she liked to party. But Suzanne is the last person I'd think something like this would happen to."

Spencer Bailey, 15, said he'd known Thorne since she was in the sixth grade. "She loved music," said Bailey, as others joined in, recalling her favorite band was The Distillers, a "chick band."

Thorne, who sported a Mohawk haircut, even reminded some friends of Brody Dalle, the band's lead singer.

David Abergel asked school authorities Monday to consider lowering the flag to half-staff to honor Thorne.

He said while "she liked to party," there was more to her than that. She played the guitar, wrote music and loved to write poetry, friends said.

When it came to speaking her mind, they added, Thorne was fearless.

"She was easy-going, and could be abrupt," recalled Pidgeon, who hung out with Thorne and her older sister, Shannon.

"The main thing I'd say about her is that she was outspoken."

A Thorne family spokeswoman on Monday declined to comment.

Ellen Delery, 15, a Robinswood student, said she did not know Thorne, but felt fortunate that a last-minute decision to spend time with her boyfriend kept her from going to the same post-rave party.

"I was invited by a friend to go to the rave and the after-party, but I decided not to go," Delery said. "I started crying when I heard the news. It's so sad. And I realized, it could have been me."

See our ongoing, complete coverage.

P-I reporter Brad Wong contributed to this report. P-I reporter Debera Carlton Harrell can be reached at 206-448-8326 or deberaharrell@seattlepi.com.

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