Man in video sought in Federal Way slaying case

FEDERAL WAY -- She was a loving wife to her ailing husband, a proud great-grandmother to her growing family.

And, sometime after 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jane Carol Britt lost her life in a baffling crime that has shocked the Federal Way neighborhood where she'd made her home for four decades.

	Britt

Britt, a 75-year-old mother of three, was found dead Wednesday afternoon in her car, parked at the nursing home where she'd been visiting her husband. Now, police are looking for a man who'd been spotted by a gas station surveillance camera lingering near the nursing home parking lot on the night of the killing.

Describing him as a person of interest in the case, Federal Way police spokeswoman Cathy Schrock said the man appeared to be emerging from a wooded area separating the gas station from Garden Terrace Alzheimer Center.

In the surveillance video, the man appeared to be wearing light-colored pants, a dark jacket and a light-colored hooded sweat shirt. He was seen walking on South 338th Street near the nursing home, which is at 491 S. 338th St., between 6:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Schrock said the man appeared to be limping and may be a transient. But she said the investigation is still in its early stages and that it's too soon to know what role, if any, the man played in Britt's death.

"We're not ruling out anything," Schrock said. "This could be a real 'who done it?' "

One of Britt's sons contacted the police Wednesday after Britt missed several appointments that morning, said Jim Dupree, a neighbor who helped search for Britt.

Dupree said Britt had gone to Garden Terrace Tuesday night to visit her husband, as she usually did twice a day. Her family found her gold Mercedes-Benz sedan parked in the lot, where, at about 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, police discovered her body.

Schrock would not confirm media reports that Britt was found in the car's trunk, but did say a locksmith was called to open the area of the car where she was found.

The King County Medical Examiner's Office has not released a cause of death, though Schrock said it was apparent to investigators that she'd died of homicidal violence.

Police have not determined what could have prompted an attack on Britt, but they also have not ruled out robbery as a possible motive.

Todd Fletcher, regional vice president with Life Care Centers of America, operator of the care facility, said Britt was a daily visitor there.

"She was a wonderful lady, very kind," he said. "A devoted mother, grandmother and wife."

Neighbor Ruth Ann Marks remembered Britt as a warm woman who'd spent recent years caring for her ailing husband.

Marks said she'd known the Britts to be good neighbors for the 40 years the couple lived in the quiet street off of the Twin Lakes Golf and Country Club golf course.

"She was a very pleasant lady," Marks said. "She always had a smile for everybody."

Dupree, who has lived next door to the Britts for 14 years, said the couple had spent much of their time traveling in the 20 years since Frank Britt retired from The Boeing Co. Before retirement, Jane Britt had worked as an accountant from her home.

Britt helped care for her grandchildren, then for her great-grandchildren, Dupree said. A proud matriarch, she watched the youngest children every Thursday.

"That was the high point of her week," Dupree said.

More recently, Britt spent much of her time taking care of her husband, Dupree said.

Her husband had become dependent on a wheelchair and, as his condition worsened, she moved him into Garden Terrace two years ago.

"I don't know how they're going to break the news to him," Dupree said.

Dupree said the neighborhood would have been shaken if Britt had died of natural causes or an accident. To lose her so violently, he said, is almost too much to bear.

"The neighborhood is just devastated," Dupree said. "You read about this kind of thing in the paper. You see it on the news. But you never expect it."

Staff members at Garden Terrace also have taken the death hard, Fletcher said, and managers are providing counselors for them.

Because the slaying occurred in the care facility's parking lot, managers also are examining security at the 108-patient facility, Fletcher said.

Though there have been car prowls in the parking lot before, there have been no serious incidents.

"We're working hard to provide a safe, secure environment for our staff and residents," he said. "We're assuring that."

Anyone with information is asked to contact Federal Way police at 253-835-6891 or 911.