Tacoma man says his wife’s shooting death was ‘an accident.’ Prosecutors call it murder
A man charged with fatally shooting his wife during an argument in Tacoma said her death was “an accident,” according to court documents.
Ruben Rios was charged Tuesday with two counts of second-degree murder and one count of first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm. He was scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday afternoon.
His 31-year-old wife, who has not been publicly identified, was found dead in a van on Burlington Way early Monday.
Police said it appeared she had been shot in the head.
Charging papers give this account of the homicide:
Officers were called about 3:45 a.m. Monday by a passerby who found a vehicle stopped in the middle of the street with a blood-covered woman inside. When police arrived, they found a Dodge Caravan still running and the victim dead inside.
Four bullet holes in the vehicle were determined to be old and unrelated to the woman’s death.
Rios was spotted riding a bicycle in the area and stopped by police. He was “covered in blood” and appeared to be crying and distraught, prosecutors wrote in charging papers.
He was arrested on an outstanding warrant from the state Department of Corrections for escaping from community custody.
Although officers did not ask him questions about the shooting, Rios allegedly told them once he was put inside a patrol car that he’d argued with the victim at a motel.
“He also said that he was sorry as he was crying,” records say.
Detectives found the crime scene in a hotel parking lot in the 8600 block of South Hosmer Street. There was a Honda Odyssey with blood on it and one of the victim’s bloody Nike sneakers.
Security footage from a business on Burlington Way showed the Dodge pull up on Burlington Way about three minutes before the 911 call was made. Several people could be spotted going to and from the vehicle.
Witnesses at a nearby homeless encampment where Rios sought help said he showed up begging for someone to do something, so several people went to check on the victim while others called 911.
Rios later told police they were driving home in his wife’s van when they started arguing.
“He stated that the victim told him she was tired of him and parked the van and got out,” prosecutors wrote in charging papers. Rios also said the shooting was “an accident” and that “the thing go off,” allegedly nodding when detectives asked him if he was referring to a gun.
Rios is a felon and prohibited from having weapons. He has prior convictions for attempted second-degree assault and unlawful possession of a controlled substance with the intent to deliver. Rios is a documented gang member, records say.
