Washougal resident Kevin West has been arrested and booked into the Clark County Jail on a charge of Murder in the 1st Degree in the death of his wife Marcy West
An investigation into the January death of Washougal resident Marcy West has led to the arrest of her husband Kevin West, who has been charged with Murder in the 1st Degree.
On Jan. 8 at 4:27 a.m., the Camas-Washougal Fire Department (CWFD) and Washougal Police Department (WPD) responded to a residence on 34th Street in Washougal for an adult female in medical distress. Kevin West, 49, reported that his wife, Marcelle (Marcy) West, 48, was having a seizure.
Within minutes, Kevin West advised the dispatcher that his wife had stopped breathing and that he was initiating CPR. Medics arrived and attempted life-saving measures, but resuscitation efforts were not successful. Marcy West’s time of death was pronounced at 5:11 a.m. The WPD and the Clark County Medical Examiner’s Office began a death investigation.
In the following days, several people contacted area authorities with concerns about Kevin and Marcy’s potential relationship issues and worries that her death may not have been natural. The autopsy revealed indications of trauma to Marcy’s neck. A criminal investigation was initiated.
On Jan. 11, WPD detectives met with Clark County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) detectives and briefed them about the initial incident and their investigation. WPD requested that CCSO take over the criminal investigation to avoid any possible conflicts of interest, as Kevin West is employed by the Camas-Washougal Fire Department. Based on those concerns, CCSO took over the investigation from WPD.
Over the next several weeks, CCSO MCU detectives began conducting interviews with collateral witnesses and interviewed Kevin West multiple times. They reviewed body-worn camera (BWC) footage from the WPD officers who responded to the scene and reviewed photos from the original death investigation. Detectives learned that Marcy and Kevin were alone at the residence at the time of Marcy’s death.
On Jan. 31, MCU detectives served search warrants to conduct searches of the West residence, cell phones, and online service providers.
Detectives continued their investigation of information obtained through the search warrants while awaiting a determination on a cause of death by the Clark County Medical Examiner’s Office. Through their investigation, detectives learned that Kevin and Marcy were experiencing marital and financial problems. Based on a comparison of interviews with Kevin and the evidence found at the house and contained in Kevin and Marcy’s cell phones, it appears that Kevin had given detectives contradictory statements.
On March 20, the medical examiner declared the cause of death as asphyxia with blunt trauma to the neck and the manner of death as homicide. On March 22, CCSO MCU detectives arrested Kevin West and booked him into the Clark County Jail on a charge of Murder in the 1st Degree. The investigation is active and ongoing.
Information provided by the Clark County Sheriff’s Office.
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