Wing Luke Museum unveils 'Healing Mural' to cover sledgehammer vandalism; hate crime suspect pleads not guilty

SEATTLE - The Wing Luke Museum unveiled a new healing mural covering a portion of the building where an alleged hate crime happened last September.

Seattle-based artists, Sam Hilario and Shea Dailey, created the mural which features a brightly-colored pheasant stretching across nine formerly smashed windows in Canton Alley.

"[The Mural] represents divine grace," said Joël Barraquiel Tan, Executive Director of the Wing Luke Museum. "The pheasant is a symbol of strength and beauty and will hopefully change the energy and the stories in that space."

The damage happened on Sept.14 when police say 76-year-old Craig Milne took a sledgehammer to nine windows of the historic building.

Since Milne's arrest in September, FOX 13 has learned Milne underwent a competency evaluation on Jan. 3, 2024, where a Department of Social and Health Services evaluator found him to have "a rational understanding of the legal proceedings and the capacity to assist in his own defense."

Milne pleaded not guilty at his arraignment on Jan. 11 and his trial has been set for Feb. 26.

In the four months since the attack on the museum, The Washington State Department of Commerce and the City of Seattle have provided $100,000 to the museum to help with the restoration.

While the 'Healing Mural' is now open to the public in Canton Alley, it will also be the centerpiece of the Wing Luke Museum's Canton Alley blessing event and Lunar New Year celebration this Saturday.