24th Tacoma Homicide of 2021: Kalyn Smith

On the morning of October 12, 2021, thirty-year-old Kalyn Smith’s body was found in the 3100 block of East M Street. It would be eight months before the Medical Examiner would rule her death a homicide. She died from someone crushing her throat. And now, over a year later, there remains no further information as to who is responsible or the circumstances that led to Kalyn’s death.

Kalyn is the twenty-fourth Tacoma homicide of 2021. My research into her is hampered by the fact that she had a common last name, does not seem to have had a large online presence, and the simple fact that not a lot of information has been released about this particular homicide. It wasn't until June of 2022 that the Medical Examiner decided it was a homicide.

Also as the homicide rate rises, the media coverage of homicides decreases. This results in less information being publicly available about the individual.

What I can say from years of writing about Tacoma homicides is that there are friends and family of Kalyn who will never be the same due to her loss. And that while the media may largely ignore homicides that they see as unimportant, for some this homicide will mean quite a lot.

As always, the comment section is reserved for those who knew Kalyn and want to share thoughts or memories of her. If you happen to have a photo of her you’d like to accompany this article, please contact me at jackcameronis@gmail.com.

• Jack