DAYTON - Attorney Abbie Broughton Marsh joined the Columbia County Prosecutor's Office this month as deputy prosecutor. She fills the position left vacant when former deputy prosecutor June Riley left to take a position with the City of Walla Walla.

Marsh moved to Dayton with her family in 2013 after working nine years in the Riverside County, Calif. District Attorney's Office. She has worked for the past two years for the Nealey and Marinella Law Office here.

"Abbie will be a great asset for Columbia County, and we are very fortunate to have her here," said Columbia County Prosecutor Rea Culwell. "Small counties often struggle to retain dedicated, experienced prose- cutors who are willing to invest in and become part of the community."

Marsh said she and her husband, Greg, made the move from California, because they wanted to raise their children in a small town setting. They have two sons and a daughter: Will, 7; Amelia, 5; and Elliott, 2.

She is glad to be back working in a prosecutor's office, she says, after spending time in private practice. "This job fits my experience better than private practice," she said.

Marsh grew up in Dayton until she was 12, when her family moved to Garfield, Wash. She graduated from Garfield Palouse High School in 1996 and then attended the University of Washington. After graduating with a degree in political science and communications, Marsh enrolled in law school at the University of Arizona in Tuscon, receiving her law degree in 2003.

At UW, Marsh rowed on the crew team during her sophomore year. "I had always played sports and I missed it," she said. While she rowed on the junior varsity team, the UW varsity women that year won the national championship.

Marsh said that her interest in law came out of a couple of memorable childhood experiences. She appeared at a hearing in the Columbia County Courthouse when she was four. "That was before the restoration, but I still remember thinking how beautiful the courtroom was," she said.

"Then I read 'Helter Skelter' when I was about ten," she said, referring to the 1974 Vincent Bugliosi book about the Charles Manson crime family. (Bugliosi was the prosecutor in Manson's 1970 trial.) "I found the criminal investigation and trial fascinating."

In Riverside County, Marsh said she was involved in a wide range of criminal prosecutions. "I tried more than 35 cases in front of a jury," she said. "That included two murder trials and a few attempted murders."

About 200 attorneys work in the District Attorney's office in Riverside County, which covers a huge area of Southern California. Marsh said she spent a great deal of her time on cases involving sexual assault and child abuse.

"I occasionally went out on homicide investigation calls," she said. "Some involved children and were pretty disturbing."

In her new job, Marsh will initially handle district and municipal court cases, and will share superior court cases with Culwell. "I'm confident she can handle anything we throw at her," Culwell said.