Steven Cox was killed in the early morning hours of December 2, 2006, during what began as a party-related disturbance in White Center. Deputies had responded about 1:42 a.m. to a report that a man had crashed his truck into a parked car outside a house; partygoers allegedly beat and shot the truck driver, whose injuries were not life-threatening. Deputies at the scene began separating and interviewing people.

Deputy Cox, 46, a nine-year veteran of the King County Sheriff’s Office and a former prosecutor, took several individuals into a back bedroom to interview them. While his service weapon remained holstered he was shot in the head. Other deputies heard the shots; the gunman emerged and opened fire on them and was killed when deputies returned fire. Cox was transported to Harborview Medical Center and died that morning.

The shooter was identified as 23-year-old Raymond O. Porter of Burien, a man with prior felony convictions and documented gang ties. Investigators later found Porter had been released early from prison because of a Department of Corrections sentencing miscalculation. Two men and two women were arrested in connection with the initial assault on the truck driver, and Cox’s family later filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the state.

Did anyone in the White Center area witness events that night or know more about the people who were at that house?