The man suspected of killing five people at a rural Oregon home took his own life after fleeing to Washington state, police said Sunday night.
Authorities in Washington County, Oregon, said Benjamin Charles Parker, 36, was found dead inside a car in the Seattle exurb of Enumclaw — almost 150 miles away from the crime scene.
“It is believed he died by suicide,” Sheriff Caprice Massey said. “Detectives do not believe there is a danger to the public.”
Investigators said Mr. Parker was the lone suspect in the case, but they did not discuss a motive or his connection to the victims.
Police have not identified the people who were killed or their manner of death.
Firefighters first responded to a vehicle fire early Saturday at a secluded home near Forest Grove, Oregon, and discovered the crime scene. Forest Grove is about 30 miles east of Portland.
Sheriff Massey said deputies found the bodies of five people in the home, as well as several domesticated animals.
The homicides were not treated as random, officials said, but they were left with few clues as to who was behind the carnage at first.
“I will say that in my 22 years here, I have not been a part of, or witnessed, a scene quite this complex, involving this type of an investigation,” Sheriff Massey said Saturday at a press conference.
“And I’m just going to lead in and say that I recognize that this incident is deeply concerning to our community. Our investigators are working to determine what happened, and we have dedicated every available resource to this case,” she said.
After police linked Mr. Parker to the homicides, property records showed he was a resident at the Forest Grove home where the killings took place.
Court records said Mr. Parker had no criminal history in Oregon. He had traffic-related arrests in Rhode Island for driving with a suspended license in 2025 and allegedly possessing a stolen motor vehicle or parts in 2013.
