SPOKANE, Wash. – Justin Honken’s family said they are being kicked when they are already down. Only six months after his death from a boating collision, the family feels victimized yet again by someone they trusted to do the right thing.
Investigators said a woman stole $14,000 from a fund set up to help the families who lost their loved ones in a boat crash. Two others were also killed in the crash that killed Honken in July 2016 on Lake Coeur d’Alene.
Monday, deputies announced their investigation into the boating incident was done and that they had forwarded the case to the prosecutor who would ultimately decide whether to file charges, but another problem for Honken’s family arose.
“Everyday’s a struggle to get through stuff and your children should never go before you,” Justin’s father Doug Honken said.
Just when Doug Honken and his family thought things could not get any harder, they did.
“She slapped so many people in the face. Though she was above all the hundreds of people who donated their time and effort,” Doug said.
Justin was just 21 when he died in the boat crash the summer of 2016. Following his death, a memorial fund was set up for him and his friend Justin Luhr.
“People knew we were gonna have lawyer fees and things like that, so that was the idea of the fundraising behind it,” Justin’s sister Heather Honken said.
$30,000 dollars in donations came pouring in and managing that money was a woman the Honkens had never met, Katie Rafter. Initially the Honkens said they appreciated her generosity, but after several months, something seemed off; the memorial funds never arrived.
Doug called the Spokane County Sheriff’s office and when authorities investigated, they said they uncovered widespread embezzlement. Authorities accuse Rafter of stealing $14,000, nearly half the memorial fund.
“For her to take it from us and use it for her own personal gain is just wrong,” Heather said.
Rafter is now in the Spokane County Jail as Honken’s grieving family comes to terms with yet another blow. The Honkens said that Justin would have been beside himself at the whole thing.
Justin’s mother, Terri Honken said, “He’s the first person to help somebody that needed help and something like this would tear him apart. It would break his heart.”
In a strange twist of fate, the Honkens said that Rafter took part in fundraising before. Two years ago, she raised money for victims of the Okanogan Complex Fire. It is important to note that there is no evidence to suggest there was embezzlement in that case.