By Denver Pratt And Robert Mittendorf / The Bellingham Herald
Police have identified the three people found dead Monday afternoon in a Cordata neighborhood home as the victims of a homicide-suicide.
Lt. Danette Beckley said Tuesday the victims are Tanya Rowe, 43, her 5-year-old son Benton, and her husband and the boy’s father, Kevin Rowe, 45.
Beckley didn’t say whether a weapon was used or who was the killer. She said the public isn’t in any danger, and no suspect is being sought.
Tanya Rowe was the Bellingham School District’s executive director of communications and community relations.
“We are heartbroken by this news,” said Superintendent Greg Baker in a prepared statement.
Tanya Rowe worked with the school district for 13 years, according to the district’s statement. She previously worked in the Office of Communications at Western Washington University and before that was a reporter with The Bellingham Herald, the statement read.
“Tanya was an amazing leader, a skilled communicator and a dear friend and colleague. She loved her friends and family deeply, especially her son Benton. She had an adventurous and brave spirit, which she passed on to her son, and they spent much of their free time hiking, biking, gardening and beach combing around the Pacific Northwest,” Baker’s statement said.
Benton was a kindergartner at Wade King Elementary.
“Benton was a bright and curious child who loved being outside and had many friends throughout the Bellingham community,” Baker said. “Their deaths are a profound loss to our school district and to our larger community.”
The school district’s counseling and support team were on site at Wade King Elementary, as well as the District office. They will be onsite again Wednesday, and support will also be available after the holidays, according to the statement.
Dr. Gary Goldfogel, the Whatcom County medical examiner, said autopsies were planned Tuesday.
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