Melanie Virdell wasn’t known to wake up early when she lived in the Spanaway area of Pierce County, but on a cold February morning about 13 years ago, she was up with her son, 18-year-old Christopher Virdell.
Christopher and Melanie Virdell had breakfast together after she made him a bowl of oatmeal on Feb. 9, 2012. She told The News Tribune earlier this month that as he got ready to leave for work at Safeway, he had been texting a friend on his phone. She watched Christopher grab his jacket and start running to the door.
“And I was like, ‘Hey, get your butt back here and give me and your dad a hug and kiss goodbye.’ So he gave me a hug and kiss goodbye. And then went over and kissed his dad on his cheek,” Melanie Virdell said. “And he told us, bye, he loved us and ran out the door.”…