Flooded townhome leads to discovery of homicide victim

Flooded townhome leads police to homicide victim, video shows last moments | FOX 13 Seattle

Security footage shows a woman enter the man's home but never leave. Her body would be found by first responders going in to a flooding apartment. The man has been arrested, with a judge setting a $5 million bond.

SEATTLE - The suspect in a homicide in Lake City's Olympic Hills was arrested Sunday after neighbors say his flooded townhome led to a grim discovery Saturday.

A woman was found dead inside the townhome, with a neighbor and the landlord calling for help after noticing water leaking out of the unit.

Seattle police say it happened near 30th Ave NE and NE 133rd Street at the complex pictured below.

Witnesses tell FOX 13 the landlord accessed the unit from the roof, along with fire officials.

A neighbor says they believe a faucet was left on in the bathroom area, flooding the unit. They say 2-3 inches of water covered the floors and that power had gone out in the unit. They added the ceiling had partially collapsed due to flooding damage.

Neighbors say the young woman was found dead in the bathroom on her back, with what looked like injuries to her neck. She also looked as if her legs had been posed with her feet together and knees out.

Fire officials pronounced her dead at the scene.

Seattle police say they are investigating the woman’s death as a homicide, with neighbors saying detectives spent around 12 hours combing through the unit after she was found.

They say their neighbor, a man in his mid-20s was seen on security video the afternoon or evening before, entering his home carrying groceries with a young woman around 5 p.m.

Neighbors noted it looked like they were settling in for the night with no sign of trouble.

On Saturday morning at around 8 a.m., the man could be seen leaving alone, taking something out from under his shirt.

Hours later, fire alarms went off, and the neighbors began to realize the unit was flooding. Police and fire officials were called in at around 10:20 a.m.

After the man left his townhome, neighbors say they were told he went to a local hospital and checked himself in, though it's unclear why. They say he was arrested after law enforcement was able to locate him.

Residents of the complex say he told them previously that he had ties to China and Hawaii.

The man is currently being held on $5 million bail, according to court records.