Man, woman shot dead in Redmond parking lot in murder-suicide

REDMOND — A man fatally shot his estranged wife as she was leaving for work before turning the gun on himself in the parking lot of the apartment complex where the woman was living, police said.

The murder-suicide took place about 9:10 a.m. at the Archstone apartments in the 4300 block of 156th Avenue Northeast, said Jim Bove, Redmond police public-information officer.

The victims were an estranged husband and wife in their late 30s or early 40s, said Bove. Their names have not yet been released.

Bove said the woman was staying with a friend at the apartments, and was leaving for work when the man confronted her in the parking lot near the leasing office for the complex. The woman was shot several times in the torso, said Bove, and the man then turned a 9-mm handgun on himself, firing one shot into his head.

The woman was believed to have worked at Microsoft, which has its main campus about two blocks south of the apartment complex. The site is just to the east of Highway 520 and an Overlake Transit Center at Northeast 40th Street.

The area inside the apartment complex was restricted with crime-scene tape for several hours after the shootings and an awning was set up to protect the crime scene from rain.

Bove said a male roommate heard the gunshots and called 911. He said some residents witnessed the shootings.

Bove said this was the first slaying in Redmond since 2004.

Peyton Whitely: 206-464-8294 or jensullivan@seattletimes.com