Father kills woman, self on Whidbey Island; baby unhurt

Published 6:00 pm Friday, January 11, 2019

Update, 1/12/2019: On Saturday, the Island County Sheriff’s Office identified the victim as Natasha Blouin, 31, of Freeland, and the dead suspect as John Meadows, 42, of Greenbank.

By Jessie Stensland / Whidbey News-Times

FREELAND — A man shot and killed a woman, and then himself, following an argument over the custody exchange of an infant in an area near Freeland on Friday afternoon, the Island County Sheriff’s Office reported.

At about 3:30 p.m. Friday, deputies with the Island County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of a domestic disturbance involving a child custody exchange.

Prior to the arrival of the deputies, a 42-year-old man fled the scene with a 31-year-old woman and their infant child. The man shot and killed the woman a short time later, then killed himself at a location outside of Freeland, the sheriff’s office reported.

The infant is unharmed and safe.

Both the victim and the suspect are residents of South Whidbey.

The Island County Sheriff’s Office is not looking for any additional suspects and will release additional information when it becomes available.

This story originally appeared in the Whidbey News-Times, a sibling paper of The Daily Herald.