Police Investigate Father/Son Murder-Suicide In Maple Valley

MAPLE VALLEY, WA — The Thursday night deaths of a Maple Valley father and his toddler son are reportedly being investigated as a murder-suicide, according to the King County Sheriff's Office.

The mother of the 2-year-old child called 911 around 10 p.m. May 23 after returning from work and not finding her son or boyfriend at home, KOMO News reported. While on the phone with 911 operators, the woman reportedly found her son, who wasn't breathing.

First responders were immediately dispatched to the home in the 21300-block of Southwest 277th Street but were ultimately unable to revive the boy.

Sheriff's deputies who searched the home reportedly found the boy's father dead in the garage. He appeared to have died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities said.

On Twitter, King County Sheriff's officials said the incident was being investigated as a "domestic violence situation," noting no calls had been made to the sheriff's office for this address in the 18 months since the family moved in.

Investigators have not yet announced the boy's official cause of death, though they confirmed he was not shot.