LONGVIEW, Wash. — A couple killed each other on Halloween night while their young child was in a different room of their southwestern Washington home, Cowlitz County law enforcement officials say.
Deputies were called to a home on Olympia Way in Longview around 6 p.m. on Oct. 31 after reports of a shooting, according to the Cowlitz County Sheriff's Office. Deputies arrived and found two adults down in the kitchen area of the home. Both were given medical aid, but pronounced dead at the scene.
The victims were identified as Juan A. Alvarado, 38, and Cecilia Robles, 39. Alvarado's cause of death was stab wounds and Robles' was both gunshot and stab wounds. Both deaths were ruled homicides by the Cowlitz County Coroner's Office, as officials say the two seemed to be fighting each other but no primary aggressor could be determined.
A search warrant and subsequent interviews found that the two "had relationship issues and intended to separate," officials say.
The couple's 11-year-old child was the only person inside the residence at the same time as the double homicide, officials say. They were in a different room playing video games with earbuds in and did not witness the altercation, according to deputies. The child called 911 to report the fight.
