Argument over strip club, infidelity preceded Lakewood homicide/suicide, records show
Police reports obtained by The News Tribune through a public-records request reveal more details about a homicide/suicide that left two people dead in a Lakewood apartment three months ago.
Stephanie Guerra Bravo, 24, and Rodolfo Montoy-Velazquez, 23, were found dead near the 8000 block of 83rd Avenue Southwest on Feb. 10. They died from gunshot wounds, and preliminary evidence showed their deaths were from a domestically related homicide/suicide, according to the Lakewood Police Department.
The Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office said in a news release that Bravo died from homicide. Montoy-Velazquez’s cause and manner of death were listed as pending, a news release shows. A medical examiner told detectives that it appeared Montoy-Velazquez died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the forehead, police reports show.
Lakewood police were dispatched that day at about 2:08 p.m. after Bravo’s daughter, whose age was redacted from the reports, went to a neighbor’s apartment seeking help. When the neighbor looked inside the victims’ unit, he saw Bravo’s and Montoy-Velazquez’s bodies.
Police reports indicate that Montoy-Velazquez was in the Army. When detectives were in the apartment, they discovered ultrasound paperwork and discovered that Bravo was 20 weeks pregnant. A medical examiner later confirmed her pregnancy.
Police spoke to the daughter, who said that “a monster came in the house in the middle of the night and killed her parents.” When police interviewed the child later, she said that she did not know how her mother and Montoy-Velazquez died. She then said when she saw her mom’s deceased body, she ran out to get help, reports say. The child was placed into custody with Bravo’s family.
A neighbor who lives in the building said she woke up that night to sounds of gunshots. She woke up her husband, who said he did not hear anything. Another neighbor said she heard four loud bangs that night, and it woke her up from her sleep.
Police spoke to one of Montoy-Velazquez’s military friends who said he was with him the day before. Bravo and Montoy-Velazquez were arguing, and she accused them of going to a strip club, records show. The friend tried to reassure her that they were not going to a strip club.
The friend said he noticed that Montoy-Velazquez had a pistol before they went out. The next day, the friend tried to reach out to Montoy-Velazquez, but he did not answer.
Bravo’s and Montoy-Velazquez’s phones were seized, and detectives reviewed their contents. There were text messages in which Bravo called Montoy-Velazquez a cheater and accused him of going to a strip club with one of his Army friends, reports show.
There were several videos from the morning of Feb. 10 where Bravo recorded Montoy-Velazquez walking through the apartment parking lot. She accused him of not being able to handle his liquor. A final video showed Montoy-Velazquez’s search history, which indicated he was looking for massage parlors that offer sexual favors in exchange for money, reports show.
The screen recording was sent to Bravo’s phone at 3:13 a.m. Based on witness statements, gunshots were heard at 3:33 a.m., 20 minutes after the final message that Bravo received, reports show.
