Police: 2 toddlers, 2 adults found dead in Lakewood murder-suicide
TACOMA, Wash. -- Two young children and a Lakewood couple were found dead inside their apartment Wednesday night of an apparent murder-suicide, police said.
A welfare check had been requested at the family, who were living in the 7200 block of 150th Street Southwest in the Woodbrook area of Lakewood, police said.
“My neighbor walked over, sobbing in tears,” said neighbor Kayelizabeth Bartlett. “She said he bludgeoned those babies.”
Bartlett says she saw investigators working late into the night on Wednesday.
Both a relative of the family and Child Protective Services requested the check after the family had missed a scheduled appointment earlier in the day with CPS.
Officers entered the home and found two young girls, one under 2 years old and another under 3 years old, dead of apparent homicidal violence, police said.
A 26-year-old man and a 36-year-old woman were also found dead in the home.
“It was just so sad to see that someone felt the need to destroy their family and themselves,” said Bartlett.
Police said the male and female were husband and wife and parents of the two young girls.
Police said it's likely the victims were in the apartment for at least a week before their bodies were discovered.
"This appears to be a tragic case of family violence involving a possible murder/suicide scenario," Lakewood Police Lt. Chris Lawler said. "It appears that the children died from homicidal violence, but at this point in the investigation it is unknown the role each parent played in this incident.
No cause of death was immediately determined, and the identities of the deceased were not immediately released.
There is no indication anyone else was involved in the killings, police said.
It’s a tragedy that weighs heavy on neighbors who say the family was relatively new to the Woodbrook neighborhood.
“What would pose someone to feel that they had to end their whole family’s life, their legacy?” asked Bartlett. “Their legacy, what happened to that legacy?”