ISSAQUAH, Wash. — The Issaquah Police Department (IPD) says one woman is in custody after a body was found inside an apartment building following a fire on Tuesday morning.
Crews responded to reports of a sprinkler activation alarm at an apartment on Shangri-La Way Northwest before 8 a.m., where firefighters called police after finding the body of a man at the scene, IPD says.
In a press release, Issaquah Police say the victim died from injuries related to the fire as well as blunt force trauma.
Andrew Braney said he was getting his family ready for the day when he heard sirens and smelled smoke. He says he’s feeling “grief and shock” after learning someone had died.
“This is an extremely safe, close-knit little place. It’s the kind of place where you see kids running around, having a fun time. Long-term residents here take care of each other, look after each other.” Braley said. " This is not that kind of a place."
Police have not identified either the victim or the suspect as of Tuesday evening. They also did not state how the two knew each other.
However, the sister of the suspect told KIRO 7 her sister had been struggling with mental health and addiction for years. She says her sister had been admitted then released twice in the last week from mental health facilities.
“I think my biggest disappointment is in our healthcare because she, several times, asked for help and did not get the help that she needed.” The sister said, who asked not to be identified, “Now this was the final cry and an innocent life had to die for it.”
The suspect’s sister has been taking care of the suspect’s children for years. She’s “devastated” about having to tell them about what happened.
“This is going to be very hard for them to hear this news,” her sister said.
She doesn’t know what mental health facilities her sister was admitted to, or why she was let out, but she wants to find out. Her hope is that other people get better care than her sister.
“[My sister] is a beautiful person that who would take her shirt off her back for anybody. This was not her, this was a mental illness that could have been addressed.”
A woman has been booked into King County Jail for first-degree murder. According to police, she is the current resident of the apartment in question.
It’s unclear if the victim lived there.
Police say the fire was isolated to one unit.
This is a developing story.
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