Homicide in University Place: Manhunt leads to arrest of suspect in Buckley

Pierce County Sheriff’s deputies arrested a 42-year-old man Saturday on suspicion of first-degree murder after discovering the body of a 40-year-old woman at an apartment in University Place.

The investigation began with a 911 call requesting a welfare check in Buckley, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office. Deputies responded at 10:10 a.m.

“The caller stated their daughter left that morning to pick up her child in common from his father in University Place,” said sheriff’s spokesperson Darren Moss. “Instead of their daughter returning, the child’s father arrived at their house and dropped off the son.”

The parents could not reach their daughter by phone, Moss added.

Deputies drove to an apartment complex in University Place: the father’s address. The missing woman’s vehicle was sitting in the parking lot, unoccupied. After entering the apartment, they found the 40-year-old woman inside, dead from an apparent gunshot wound.

A search for the man followed. Eventually, a 911 call alerted deputies to a suspicious vehicle parked on a trail in Buckley, at the 13600 block of 300th Avenue East, according to the sheriff’s department. The vehicle was registered to the suspect.

Surrounding the vehicle, deputies and Buckley police officers started a negotiation with the man. Initially, he refused to come out. An hour-long standoff ended with a stun gun shot, the sheriff’s department said. The man was booked into the Pierce County Jail.