Two men found dead in Hillyard home

Police found a 51-year-old man dead and bleeding from the head in a garage and a 34-year-old man dead in a bedroom from a possible suicide/overdose Wednesday at a Hillyard home, according to court documents.

Detectives believe the deaths are connected, with one death appearing to be by “criminal means,” according to a Spokane Police Department news release.

Officers responded about 1 p.m. to an address, identified in court documents as 5417 N. Cook St., to investigate an unattended death, according to the release. The release said when officers arrived, they found the 51-year-old dead in a garage.

The man appeared to have been dead for at least several hours, according to court records. Police wrote that he sustained at least two blunt-force injuries to his skull that likely caused his death.

While searching the home, officers found the 34-year-old man lying dead in a closed, locked basement bedroom. Detectives did not see any obvious signs of trauma on the man, but did locate handwritten notes that may indicate suicide/overdose, court documents show.

Police found minor scratches and abrasions on the younger man’s torso, face and elbow that appeared fresh. In his basement bedroom, detectives found drugs and drug paraphernalia, open pill bottles and handwritten letters that sounded suicidal in nature, court records say.

In a small backpack near the 34-year-old’s body, detectives located a mallet covered in blood.

Officers contacted a woman inside the home. She identified the 51-year-old as her husband.

She said she works random hours for DoorDash and last saw her husband about 2 p.m. Tuesday. Her husband converted the garage into his personal space where he has furniture and a television.

She said they have a large home, so they have let other people stay in the home to help with rent. She said she did not know what may have happened to her husband, and he has no known issues with anyone other than a former disgruntled resident who they recently asked to leave. She identified five nonfamily adults who have rented rooms in their home.

Police also interviewed tenants in the home, and determined the last time the older man was seen was when he entered the garage at about 4 p.m. Tuesday. The older man’s wife and tenants did not see any interaction between the two men that day and their relationship always seemed cordial.

The Spokane County Medical Examiner’s Office has not “positively identified” either man, the office said in an email.

Officers found several surveillance cameras in the carport and on the garage that they planned to examine, according to court documents.

Police believe this was an isolated incident and there is no threat to the public.