Spanaway man shot wife, daughter, then went for fast food

Skooter reporting 09/19/12

A man shot his wife at their Spanaway home Tuesday night, then took his 11-year-old daughter out for a drive before gunning her down in the car, investigators said. He then stopped for a meal at a fast food restaurant before returning home and trying to cover up evidence, police said.

Police came to know about the deaths when the man later turned himself in to the Pierce County Jail early Wednesday and told police he fatally shot his wife and child. Pierce County Sheriff's Captain Ed Smith said deputies went to a home in the 15500 block of 20th Ave. Court East and found the bodies just before 5 a.m.

Smith said, viewing through the window, there appeared to be a person in the bed and was non-responsive. They went in forcing their way into the home, and discovered two dead persons in the master bedroom bed.

Dean R. Holmes, 40, was identified as the suspect, and the victims are his 41-year-old wife, Kristi Holmes, and 11-year-old daughter, Violet Holmes, police said.

According to the police report, Tuesday night Dean Holmes shot his wife while she slept, then woke Violet and a friend of hers who had slept over that night. Holmes took both kids in his car, dropped the friend of at her Auburn home, then went on driving around with Violet in the car.

Holmes pulled over along a Spanaway road and shot his daughter in the car. Before returning home, Holmes then drove to a fast food restaurant, bought a meal, and returned home and put Violet's body in bed with her dead mother, detectives said. Holmes attempted to clean his home and car, right after he turned himself in, Smith said.

Further investigation revealed Dean Holmes ran a home painting business and had been hiding financial problems from his wife as well as lying about a home they were supposed to be moving in to. Holmes owed more than $18,000 in unpaid taxes, based on financial records with the Department of Revenue . He was also being sued by a client in Puyallup for unfinished work, detectives said.

Dean Holmes has been detained into jail for investigation of two counts of first-degree murder and is slated to make his first court appearance Thursday afternoon.

NYP