Man suspected of killing mother in North Seattle

SEATTLE — A man is suspected of killing his mother before killing himself in North Seattle, police said Friday afternoon.

Police were called about 2 p.m. and told a man left his Ballard home after indicating he was contemplating suicide.

“A short time later, police received a second call from the family indicating the man may have headed for his elderly mother’s assisted living facility in the Ravenna neighborhood, with plans to harm her,” department spokesman Jonah Spangenthal-Lee said in a statement.

Staff at the Ida Culver House, an assisted-living facility with 90 residences, went to the elderly woman’s room to check on her and found the bodies of a man and an elderly woman, police said.

“The King County Medical Examiner will formally identify the bodies,” Spangenthal-Lee said. “Officers arrived at the scene and called in homicide detectives, who are investigating the incident.”

If ruled a homicide, police said this would be the 17^th homicide in Seattle this year, including officer involved incidents.

Seattle had the record number of homicides in 1994 with 69, according to department statistics. In 2010 there were 19 homicides – the fewest since 1956.

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