A man killed his girlfriend, her two family members and two friends on a rural property in Oregon before he died by suicide, according to authorities.
The Washington County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that Benjamin Charles Parker died of an apparent suicide inside of a car after he murdered his girlfriend, Stella Jade Kimsey, her mother, Rowan Karla Kimsey, and her grandmother, Mary Elizabeth Kimsey, on Saturday, August 22. In addition to Stella, 26, and her family members, police said Parker, 36, killed Stella’s best friend, Linsey Mae Haraldsen, and Haraldsen’s boyfriend, Alvin Raymond Chu.
The killings took place on a farm, which was owned by Rowan, 60. Rowan also lived at the property with Stella and Parker.
Several animals also lived on the property, and authorities said that two cats and dogs were found dead at the crime scene. Another cat was taken to a veterinarian for treatment, but was ultimately euthanized “due to the extent of its injuries.”
Authorities have not yet announced how the five people or animals were killed, and a motive for the killings is not currently known.
Authorities learned of the murders when firefighters responded to a report of a vehicle fire at the property, according to KGW8.
“We do have a deceased victim up here. We’re gonna need law enforcement,” a firefighter said in dispatch audio, which was obtained by KGW8. “I need a police unit or a sheriff’s office unit code for you to see just in case we have two victims here.”
The firefighter added, “This is some suspicious circumstances certainly so we’re gonna … just take our hoses and get out of here and let the sheriff’s office clear this. Then we’ll return.”
After detectives found the five victims at the property, they tracked Parker’s vehicle about 180 miles away behind a Safeway in Enumclaw. He was already dead by the time police found him.
Enumclaw Police Chief Tim Floyd said that detectives found Parker by tracking his cell phone, per the outlet.
“They called us and said, ‘We have a cell phone ping in your city,’ here’s the plate and the car that you’re looking for,’” Floyd continued. “So we go to the flock system, we put the plate in, we could see that he’s hit a couple of our cameras and the last hit was him coming into the city and he had not left so we had a good indication that he was still here.”
The crime was further discussed in a press conference on Sunday, August 23, in which Washington County Detective Shannon Wilde said that authorities do not believe the killings were a “random act.”
Forest Grove Fire and Rescue addressed the tragedy in a Facebook post, saying they viewed the victims as “our friends and our neighbors.”
“Tragedies like our community experienced over the weekend are incredibly sad, while also being so hard on our hearts and souls. Even though many of you did not know the vibrant lives so needlessly lost, some of you most certainly did,” the department wrote on Facebook. “While others still undoubtedly moved past them in a local grocery store, restaurant, or our otherwise normal day to day lives. These were our friends, and our neighbors, and they too called this beautiful place home.”
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org.
