Couple believed to be fatally shot by son in Buckley-area home are identified

A Buckley-area couple were found dead inside their home Wednesday night, and their 21-year-old son is believed to have killed them.

The bodies of Steven Standley, 55, and Theresa Standley, 56, were found after another son requested a welfare check.

That man told Pierce County sheriff’s deputies he was concerned because he knew his brother planned to have a sit-down chat with their parents about 6:30 p.m. and he hadn’t been able to reach them afterward.

A deputy went to their ranch-style home in the 2300 block of 162nd Street East and immediately noticed a bullet hole in the window of the front door.

After asking for backup, the deputy found the Standleys dead inside. Theresa Standley’s body had been wrapped in a tarp.

A helicopter and K-9 were brought out to help search a wooded area nearby in case their 21-year-old son was still in the area.

He wasn’t.

Detectives discovered the son had rented a car, and they put out a bulletin to all law enforcement agencies in the state about 12:20 a.m. asking them to look for the vehicle.

A Tumwater police officer spotted the car within 10 minutes. It was parked outside a hotel on 74th Avenue SW, and the 21-year-old man was sitting inside.

Police ordered him not to move but he ignored them and allegedly drove straight at a Thurston County sheriff’s sergeant, prompting him to open fire on the vehicle.

The son was shot in the shoulder and stopped the car.

He was taken to a hospital to be treated for a gunshot wound and then booked into Pierce County Jail on suspicion of two counts of first-degree murder.

The son is expected to appear in court Friday.

No motive has been determined, but sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer said the suspect has an anger problem and drug history. It’s unknown what he planned to speak with his parents about.

This story was originally published March 15, 2018 at 12:17 PM with the headline "Couple believed to be fatally shot by son in Buckley-area home are identified."