Seattle police investigating homicide, second death at Cal Anderson Park
Sep 16, 2020, 10:40 PM | Updated: Sep 17, 2020, 5:39 am
(Getty image)
(Getty image)
A woman was found dead at Cal Anderson Park and a man who was a person of interest in her death was found dead hours later inside a tank at the park.
Seattle police detectives said they are investigating the death of the woman as a domestic violence homicide.
About 8 p.m. Wednesday, officers were called to the northeast part of the park to help Seattle Fire Department medics as they performed CPR on a woman who was unresponsive.
Medics were unable to revive her and she was declared dead at the scene. Detectives called to the park determined that it was a homicide.
Around the same time, officers received reports of a man who had broken into the pump house on the west side of the park.
Update to Cal Anderson homicide investigation, barricaded subject found deceased inside building. https://t.co/ZuokJdCIsS https://t.co/CKk0FCQlbS
— Seattle Police Dept. (@SeattlePD) September 17, 2020
After speaking with witnesses, officers determined that the man and the woman had a domestic relationship and were staying in a makeshift shelter in the park earlier that night.
Officers tried to get the man to come out of the pump house, but he barricaded himself inside the building. Negotiators tried to talk to the man, but eventually SWAT was called.
Police said SWAT officers used a variety of tools and techniques to get the man to surrender peacefully, but he refused to come out of the building.
About 12:30 a.m. Thursday, SWAT officers entered the building and found the man unresponsive at the bottom of a 10-foot tank, which contained about 50 gallons of 12 percent bleach solution. He was declared dead at the scene.
Seattle Fire came back to the park with a hazmat crew to assess the scene and help the medical examiner recover the body.
The medical examiner will determine the cause and manner of death of both people.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact the Seattle Police Department violent crimes tip line at (206) 233-5000.
