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Murder of the Goldmark Family

SOLVED1979Seattle, Washington, United States3 SOURCESUPDATED JUL 2026
Illustrative

On December 24, 1985, David Lewis Rice entered the Seattle home of attorney Charles Goldmark by posing as a taxi driver delivering a package. Rice tied up Charles, his wife Annie, and their sons, 12-year-old Derek and 10-year-old Colin, chloroformed them, robbed them, and then bludgeoned and stabbed all four with a steam iron and kitchen knife. Annie died at the scene; Colin died four days later, Charles after 16 days, and Derek after 37 days, all at Harborview Medical Center. Guests arriving for a planned visit discovered the attack after receiving no answer at the door and later hearing moaning from inside the house; they obtained a spare key from neighbors and found the family before police and firefighters arrived.

Rice's motive stemmed from a belief, developed through his involvement with an antisemitic, anti-communist study group called the Duck Club led by retired Army Colonel Gordon "Jack" Mohr, that Charles Goldmark was a regional director of the American Communist Party. This belief traced back to a 1962 political smear campaign against Charles's father, state representative John Goldmark, in which local newspapers and figures including Albert F. Canwell accused the family of Communist sympathies, citing Charles's attendance at Reed College and his mother Sally's youthful membership in the Communist Party USA. The Goldmarks successfully sued for libel, though the judgment was later overturned. Neither John nor Sally Goldmark was alive at the time of the 1985 murders, and the victim family was not Jewish or Communist as Rice believed.

Rice was identified after a Duck Club acquaintance, with whom Rice was staying, found a written confession in a guestbook and alerted police. Rice was arrested on December 26, 1985, attempted to poison himself with liquid nicotine during the pursuit, and later gave a taped confession describing his preparations and the killings after speaking with an attorney.

At trial, Rice raised an insanity defense; three examining physicians diagnosed him with a paranoid delusional disorder. He was convicted on June 5, 1986, of aggravated murder for all four deaths and sentenced to death five days later. That conviction and sentence were later overturned on the grounds that his trial attorney had provided constitutionally inadequate representation by failing to adequately present evidence of Rice's psychotic symptoms. In 1998, Rice pleaded guilty in exchange for avoiding the death penalty and is serving a life sentence at the Washington State Penitentiary.

In the aftermath, the Goldmark Foundation was established in 1986, distributing more than $200,000 to local causes, and in 1992 a plaque was placed at a Seattle overlook renamed in the family's memory.

Key facts

Victims
Colin Goldmark, Derek Goldmark, Annie Goldmark, Charles Goldmark
Date
1979
Location
Seattle, Washington, United States
Case status
solved

Case timeline

  1. 1956

    John Goldmark, Charles Goldmark's father, is elected to the Washington House of Representatives.

  2. 1962

    Local newspapers and figures accuse the Goldmark family of Communist sympathies during a political campaign; John Goldmark loses his party's nomination.

  3. 1979-10

    John Goldmark dies of cancer.

  4. 1985-05

    Sally Goldmark dies.

  5. 1985-12-24

    David Lewis Rice enters the Goldmark home in Seattle posing as a delivery driver, then ties up, chloroforms, robs, and attacks Charles, Annie, Derek, and Colin Goldmark with a steam iron and kitchen knife.

  6. 1985-12-24

    Guests discover the attack after receiving no answer and later hearing moaning; Annie Goldmark is pronounced dead at the scene.

  7. 1985-12-28

    Colin Goldmark dies at Harborview Medical Center.

  8. 1985-12-26

    Police arrest David Lewis Rice after a Duck Club acquaintance reports a written confession found in a guestbook.

  9. 1986-01-09

    Charles Goldmark dies at Harborview Medical Center after 16 days.

  10. 1986-01-30

    Derek Goldmark dies at Harborview Medical Center after 37 days.

  11. 1986-06-05

    Rice is convicted of aggravated murder for the four deaths.

  12. 1986-06-10

    Rice is sentenced to death.

  13. 1986

    The Goldmark Foundation is established.

  14. 1992

    A plaque honoring the Goldmark family is dedicated at the newly named Goldmark Overlook in Seattle.

  15. 1998

    Rice pleads guilty to the crimes in exchange for avoiding the death penalty and is sentenced to life in prison.

Best coverage

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People

  • Colin Goldmark

    VICTIM

    10-year-old son of Charles and Annie Goldmark, died 4 days after the attack.

  • Derek Goldmark

    VICTIM

    12-year-old son of Charles and Annie Goldmark, died 37 days after the attack.

  • Annie Goldmark

    VICTIM

    Wife of Charles Goldmark, killed in the December 24, 1985 attack; pronounced dead at the scene.

  • Charles Goldmark

    VICTIM

    Lawyer and Washington State Democratic Party legal counsel, killed in the December 24, 1985 attack at his Seattle home.

  • David Lewis Rice

    CONVICTED

    Convicted of aggravated murder in 1986 for the killings of the Goldmark family; sentence later overturned due to ineffective counsel; pleaded guilty in 1998 and is serving a life sentence.

Roles reflect public records and court outcomes at the time of writing — supporting citations are on file under Sources.

Places

Seattle, Washington, United States

47.6062, -122.3321

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Common questions

What happened to the victim?
On Christmas Eve 1985, David Lewis Rice broke into the Seattle home of lawyer Charles Goldmark and murdered him, his wife Annie, and their two young sons, believing the family were secret Communist operatives who were also Jewish, though they were neither.
Where did the murder happen?
Seattle, Washington, United States.
Who was convicted?
David Lewis Rice (Convicted of aggravated murder in 1986 for the killings of the Goldmark family; sentence later overturned due to ineffective counsel; pleaded guilty in 1998 and is serving a life sentence.).
What is the current status of the case?
Status: solved.
More cases in Washington

Sources

  1. ENCYCLOPEDICMurder of the Goldmark familyWikipedia · 2026-07-07
  2. PRESSContemporaneous coverage — The New York TimesThe New York Times · 2026-07-07
  3. PRESSContemporaneous coverage — Associated PressAssociated Press · 2026-07-07

Record history

First published
JUL 07, 2026