Police investigate Mercer Island murder-suicide, Issaquah double murder
Police investigate Mercer Island murder-suicide, Issaquah double-murder
Two people have been found dead inside an Issaquah home, tied to a earlier murder-suicide on Mercer Island.
MERCER ISLAND, Wash. - Police are investigating after a mother and son were killed in a possible murder-suicide on Mercer Island, and two others were found dead in an Issaquah home on Tuesday.
The backstory:
According to the Mercer Island Police Department (MIPD), at around 10:45 a.m., officers responded to a residence near the corner of Southeast 46th Street and 84th Avenue Southeast for a welfare check.
An attorney representing the homeowner reported they had received a concerning email that raised fears for the occupants’ safety.
When officers arrived, they looked through a window from outside the home and saw a body lying on the ground. After making entry, officers found two bodies with gunshot wounds: 80-year-old Danielle Cuvillier and her 45-year-old son, Makenzie P. Williams.
Dig deeper:
About an hour later, Mercer Island Police requested the Issaquah Police Department to do another welfare check at a family member's home along Southeast Evans Lane.
There, officers discovered two more bodies: a woman in her mid-40s and a man in his mid-30s. Police said there was no sign of forced entry.
The two individuals found dead at the Issaquah home were related to the mother and son killed in the suspected murder-suicide on Mercer Island.
What they're saying:
Police said they do not believe there are any other suspects, and there is no indication of an ongoing threat to the community.
"We don't think there's an outstanding suspect," said MIPD Commander Jeff Magnan. "At this point, we are still investigating. We've got our detectives here, and we are going to have assistance from Washington State Patrol – their crime people are going to come in and process our scene for us. And we are currently working with the King County Prosecutor's Office for any warrants we might need to evaluate and to look for additional evidence or any sort of motive."
What's next:
Detectives are now working to obtain warrants to search surveillance video from the homes. They are also looking for any relatives to make proper notification.
In a Dec. 31 update, the MIPD announced that a total of four firearms were recovered from inside the Mercer Island home, and another gun was found in a vehicle that was impounded as part of the investigation.
"All firearms have been secured and will undergo forensic analysis," the MIPD wrote on Wednesday. "This process will take time, and results will be released when available."
Big picture view:
"This time of year, unfortunately, domestic violence tends to go up – I'm not sure if that's what this case is," said Magnan. "We're still investigating that, but we do see a rise in domestic incidents that occur during the holiday times."
The King County Medical Examiner’s Office will determine the official cause and manner of death of the four individuals.
The Source: Information in this story comes from the Mercer Island Police Department and Issaquah Police Department.
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