Medical examiner declares woman’s death homicide, husband faces murder charge
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – A man is accused in the January death of his wife after a medical examiner determined she had died of homicide inside their Washougal home, according to the Clark County Sheriff’s Office.
On Wednesday, a medical examiner declared Marcelle (Marcy) West, 48, had died of asphyxiation due to blunt trauma found on her neck. Her husband, 49-year-old Kevin West, is a battalion chief with the Camas-Washougal Fire Department.
Authorities said Kevin called 911 to the couple’s home on 34th Street and reported that Marcy was having a seizure on Jan. 8. During the call, he reportedly told dispatchers she had stopped breathing and he was going to give her CPR before medics arrived.
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Marcy was declared dead at 5:11 a.m. The medical examiner’s office launched a suspicious death investigation, and an autopsy revealed she had suffered a neck injury.
“In the following days, several people contacted local authorities with concerns about Kevin and Marcy’s potential relationship issues and worries that her death may not have been natural,” Clark County officials said.
After interviewing witnesses and collecting the couple’s cell phones as evidence, investigators found that Kevin and Marcy were experiencing “marital and financial problems.” Detectives also reported that Kevin seemed to have given contradictory statements.
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Body camera footage and photos of the scene revealed the couple had been alone together on the night of Marcy’s death.
On March 22, detectives arrested Kevin, who now faces a charge for first-degree murder. An investigation is ongoing.
Neighbors who spoke with KOIN 6 News said they thought Marcy’s death was suspicious but they never imagined something like this could happen on their block.
“I was extremely shocked and saddened. I mean, that’s not something that you hear about every day,” said Christa Paris, a neighbor. “It wasn’t until they actually had the search warrant and all the police detectives out here, like going through the house that I was like, oh, my gosh, something, something happened.”
Stay with KOIN 6 News as this story develops.
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