A Washington state firefighter was arrested Friday and charged with first degree murder in the death of his wife in January.
Kevin West, 49, reportedly called 911 early on the morning of January 8 and said that Marcelle “Marcy” West, 48, was having a seizure, The Clark County Sheriff’s Office said.
“Within minutes, he advised the dispatcher that she had stopped breathing and that he was initiating CPR,” police wrote, according to Law&Crime.
Washougal Police officers and medics from the Camas-Washougal Fire Department — where West was a battalion chief — arrived just before 4:30 a.m. and “attempted life-saving measures,” according to the Clark County Sheriff’s Office. They were unsuccessful, and Marcy West was pronounced dead at 5:11 a.m..
Officers and the medical examiner’s office launched an investigation and quickly heard from friends and family who were concerned about the couple’s relationship and that Marcy West did not die naturally.
An autopsy found trauma to her neck, focusing the investigation. Washougal Police handed the investigation over to the Clark County Sheriff’s Office to avoid conflict of interest.
“Through their investigation, Detectives learned that Kevin and Marcy were experiencing marital and financial problems,” deputies wrote. “Based on a comparison of interviews with Kevin and the evidence found at the house and contained in Kevin and Marcy’s cellphones, it appears that Kevin had given detectives contradictory statements.”
Then, on Wednesday, the medical examiner ruled that Marcy West died from asphyxia with blunt trauma to the neck and the manner was homicide.
Kevin West will make a first court appearance on Monday.
