Gunshot wound to the head of second body found in remains of Spokane Valley house fire

The second person found dead in a Spokane Valley house fire Tuesday morning also died from a bullet – not by fire – the Spokane County medical examiner announced.

Bobby Kihara, 70, was killed by a “gunshot wound to the head,” the medical examiner said Thursday, adding that the “circumstances remain under investigation.” On Wednesday, the office announced Joy Kihara was also killed by a gunshot to the head at “intermediate” range.

Two dogs were also found inside the building, both of which are believed to have been killed by gunshots, the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. The dogs, neighbors said, were a pair of Labradors named AC and DC.

Both bodies were discovered by firefighters while battling a house fire at 1913 N. Sipple Road in Spokane Valley. By the time they arrived at 1:40 a.m., most of the residence was in flames.

Some neighbors reported hearing explosions before the fire started, including Jessica Hall, who lives across the street from the home. She said Wednesday that she woke suddenly to the sound of her dog barking that evening, and several minutes later heard what she described as small explosions.

“They were on oxygen tanks and we assumed that’s what it was,” she said.

Other neighbors reported a relatively quiet evening before smelling smoke and hearing the blaring alarms from responding firefighters and police, including Russ Lee, who ran outside to help and saw a house fully engulfed.

“The fire was just getting bigger and bigger,” he told The Spokesman-Review on Tuesday. “I heard windows breaking. But there weren’t any bombs or anything going off.”

Deputies say there is no known threat or danger stemming from the incident.