It’s been 50 days since Josh Blake, 28, before turning the gun on himself in one of the most tragic and widely reported crimes this year. Blake, reportedly high on methamphetamine, shot Trooper Tony Radulescu during a routine traffic stop in Port Orchard.
Surrounded by law enforcement after an intense police manhunt that ended in a decrepit trailer in the woods, Blake put a gun to his own head and pulled the trigger.
Now Chris Blake, a city of Bonney Lake employee, Sumner resident and Josh's younger brother, shares some insight into his brother's life and death in an exclusive interview with Patch. In Part 1, Chris talked about his brother's personality, childhood and his adult struggle with drugs. In Part 2, he opened up about the day his brother shot the trooper and then turned the gun on himself.
Today, he opens up about how the Blake family has handled the tragedy and what he thinks about Trooper Tony Radulescu's legacy.
Here is part three of Patch’s conversation with Chris Blake, edited for length and clarity.
After the shooting, there was an outpouring of support and grief over the death of Trooper Tony Radulescu. What would you say to the Radulescu family, if you had the chance?
I don’t really know what I would say, to be honest. How do you face the family of someone your brother killed? I have a hard time with that and have to focus on helping my family, they are my responsibility now.
What do you think of Trooper Radulescu’s family?
I feel so bad for the trooper’s family. I feel bad for everyone involved. I watched his son on the news and it made me feel awful, to know that guy is living without his father. And to know that Josh killed the first state trooper in 13 years… I feel for the cops, too. They lost one of their own.
How are you and your family dealing with the loss?
It’s like I’ve been living in a dream since it happened, it really doesn’t seem real. My little brother has never dealt with a loss like this before. My nephew, Josh’s son, doesn’t know how to deal with it at all. My mom doesn’t have time to deal with it– she’s got my little brother and Josh’s children to worry about.
My girlfriend and I have been through a lot. Four years ago we lost a baby to SIDS, and we just buried my dad. We have a 4-month-old at home, too, so we don’t get a lot of time to think.
It kind of feels like there aren’t a lot of people left in my family–my dad’s gone, my brother is gone. I went from one of the youngest people in my family named Blake to the oldest. I feel responsible for trying to help them out. It’s a lot for everybody to take.
How are Josh’s two children doing with all of this?
I feel so terrible for his son. He’s 8 years old now and he’s pretty well aware of what is going on. That’s why the family has been so afraid to talk to media–someday he is going to read all of this, you know? Josh’s 3-year-old daughter doesn’t know what’s going on, but she’s going to have to understand it someday. The only thing we can do now is give them both lots of support. My mom has had custody of Josh’s son for years now, and we are hoping to adopt his daughter, if she becomes available for adoption–we are working with Child Protective Services now to start the process.
Tell me about Josh’s funeral service – what did you do for him?
Yes, we had it at Buckley Hall–a guy from a local church came to speak for him and the family said a few words. There were close to 100 people there, which was way more than I expected.
We’ve cremated him and I’m going to go put him with dad this summer, on his birthday.
