Everett police continue to investigate events that led to fatal shooting

EVERETT — Officers arrived to find the husband crawling out of his south Everett apartment with a cell phone in his hand. His wife, 23-year-old Gaylynn Nicole Jones, was dead inside, from a gunshot wound.

Detectives still are trying to figure out what exactly happened in the couple’s apartment leading up to the Jan. 23 shooting, court papers show.

The man called 911 about 5 p.m. He told dispatchers that Jones had stabbed him twice in the back and then she ran to get a shotgun.

He said he tried to grab the shotgun and it went off during the struggle, killing her.

The man, 30, has not been arrested, Everett police officer Aaron Snell said Friday.

“The case is under investigation,” Snell said. “Any possible arrest will depend on what facts we uncover.”

Jones’ manner of death was ruled undetermined by the Snohomish County Medical Examiner’s Office. That means there was not enough information available at this time to make a medical ruling about the circumstances in which she died.

Police took items from the apartment in a search for potential evidence of second-degree murder, according to a search warrant filed last week in Everett District Court. They also are conducting forensic analysis of the couple’s cell phones.

Police already had obtained a warrant for a cursory search of the phones, but they needed a second warrant for a more thorough review, documents show.

Text messages between the couple “provided insight into their marital and personal issues,” detectives wrote in the warrant. The pair had been arguing in the days leading up to the shooting.

The couple moved to the Walden Pond Apartments along 12th Avenue W. about six months before the shooting, Snell said.

Their two young children, who were home when the shooting took place, were taken into protective custody. The children’s ages have not been disclosed.

“We are not releasing information on the children at this time,” Snell said.

The man was taken from the scene to the hospital for medical treatment. The Herald is not naming him because he has not been arrested or charged with a crime. He has a different last name than his wife.

Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com.