REDMOND, Wash. — A husband and wife, and the wife's suspected stalker, were found dead after a home invasion in Redmond early Friday morning.
“This is the absolute worst outcome for a stalking case," said Redmond Police Chief Darrell Lowe. "This is every victim, every detective, every police chief’s worst nightmare.”
The Redmond Police Department said officers were called to a home along 89th and 169th Street for reports of a home invasion around 1:45 a.m.
Police said the husband and wife were killed. A person believed to be a suspect accused of stalking the woman died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Investigators found the 33-year-old woman and stalker dead inside the master bedroom of the home, while the 35-year-old husband was found with a gunshot wound to his chest in a doorway. The husband collapsed, and emergency crews tried to save him, but he died.
Investigators believe the suspect broke in through a bedroom window in the house.
The mother of the woman who was killed was inside the home at the time. The suspect shoved her, but she wasn't injured. The mother managed to escape and went to a neighbor's house to call 911.
A neighbor said the mother was visiting the couple from another country.
The suspect, who was a long haul truck driver from Texas, and the wife met through the social voice app Clubhouse, according to police. Lowe said it was specifically for people who speak Farsi and are looking for employment in the tech industry.
However, their interaction intensified, and the wife sought help from police in December and mid-January. Lowe said the woman reported more than 100 contacts within a single day and said the stalker sent gifts and showed up at her home.
The Redmond prosecutor obtained a protection order against the stalker. However, the order had not been served because the stalker's whereabouts were unknown.
"It was difficult to pin him down to a location," Lowe said.
A restraining order was sought at the beginning of this month.
