Security guard who was killed during her 5th shift at Tacoma building has been identified News Tribune, Tacoma, Wash. 6 hrs ago Stacia Glenn, The News Tribune (Tacoma, Wash.) Jul. 23—A security guard who died after being severely beaten and choked at a downtown Tacoma building has been identified. Denise Smith, 41, of Seattle, died early Sunday while working at a building in the 900 block of A Street. The Pierce County Medical Examiner's Office has not determined a cause of death, but investigators say she was beaten for about eight minutes and choked. A 26-year-old U.S. Army Ranger based at Joint Base Lewis-McChord has been charged in the homicide.