Man walks into jail, admits killing his wife, daughter

SPANAWAY, Wash. – A 40-year-old man told Pierce County authorities that financial and marital issues led him to kill his wife and daughter overnight in Spanaway.

Capt. Ed Smith said Dean Holmes walked into the county jail in Tacoma early Wednesday and confessed to shooting his 41-year-old wife, Kristi, and 11-year-old daughter, Violet. He’s being held for investigation of murder.

Deputies went to the home and found the bodies, then left to obtain a search warrant before looking for evidence.

According to detectives, Holmes had been hiding financial issues from his wife. He had been lying about a home they were supposedly going to move into.

Holmes told investigators that he shot his sleeping wife early Tuesday, then woke up his daughter and a friend who had slept over at the house, authorities said.

Holmes then drove both children in his car to drop off the daughter’s friend at her home. After driving his daughter around, authorities said he pulled over his car and shot her.

“The suspect then drove to a fast-food restaurant in Spanaway, purchased a meal for himself, then went home and placed his daughter’s body in bed with his wife’s body,” the sheriff’s office said.

After a few hours of cleaning the house and vehicle, Holmes decided to turn himself in.