He killed a couple on the Key Peninsula and alleges it was self-defense, prosecutor says

A man suspected of fatally shooting a husband and wife Saturday during a domestic dispute on the Key Peninsula will be held without bail as prosecutors make a charging decision.

Cory Nathan Mason, 27, was arrested on suspicion of second-degree murder after investigators saw him walking near the scene.

He had his initial court appearance Monday, and Pierce County Superior Court Commissioner Meagan Foley ordered him held without bail, pending an arraignment scheduled for Wednesday.

Deputy prosecutor Jared Ausserer told the court that Mason was alleging self-defense, and that there is surveillance footage of what happened.

The victims were identified Monday by the Pierce County Medical Examiner as Lukas Slawson, 35, and Beth Hamlin-Slawson, 25, both of Vaughn.

Preliminary investigation indicated that both the suspect and the victims fired shots outside a motor home in the 5500 block of Whiteman Road, where sheriff’s deputies responded about 3 a.m. after a 911 call that shots had been fired, the sheriff’s department said.

Investigators believed the dispute to be about drugs or guns.

A 2-year-old boy sheriff’s deputies found in a vehicle the victims took to the scene was not hurt, and was placed with relatives.

In January, Mason was charged with unlawful drug possession and was released on his own recognizance pending trial.

Charging papers in that case accuse him of having methamphetamine in his pocket during a traffic stop.

This story was originally published February 5, 2018 at 4:13 PM with the headline "He killed a couple on the Key Peninsula and alleges it was self-defense, prosecutor says."