Widow of slain reporter spreads his ashes at Nationals Park

WASHINGTON -- The widow of a slain Maryland newspaper reporter has spread his ashes at Nationals Park.

Andrea Chamblee placed the ashes of John McNamara in a planter of begonias at the park Saturday. The planter is located where the stands meet the left-field wall.

The 56-year-old McNamara covered news and sports at the Capital Gazette in Annapolis. He was one of five staff members killed when a gunman entered the newsroom in late June.

The baseball stadium where the Washington Nationals play was a sacred place for McNamara. He waited three decades for a big league team to return to Washington and rejoiced when the Nationals arrived in 2005.

Chamblee said her husband jokingly asked in 2017 that she spread his ashes there.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.