A judge has set a $1 million bail for a former Whatcom County teacher charged with killing her husband and their 1-year-old son.
Quick Facts:
- Family says victims were husband and child of woman
- Police say woman admitted to killing them
- Real estate agent found woman and two slain victims in upstairs bedroom
- Agent was about to hold open house in home near Bellingham
The Bellingham Herald reports that Erin Lee Jordan made her first appearance in court on Monday.
She's charged with shooting Michael David Jordan, 59, and their son as they slept.
Jordan was a special education teacher for nearly a decade at the close-knit Lummi Nation School. His 43-year-old wife, Erin, worked there, too, until their 17-month-old son, Miles was born.
"Even though they were both non-tribal members," said Lummi Nation Education Director Bernie Thomas in July. "we are very close with people who come here and work with us and in a sense they're our invited guests."
According to investigators, the family was discovered mid-July when a Realtor stopped by because he hadn't heard from them for some time.
"They [the husband and son] were in the bed," said Whatcom County Undersheriff Jeff Parks. "She shot both of them. Sometime later, we're not really clear on the time frame, right after that or if there was an extended period. But after that at some point, she shot herself."
A source said the Whatcom County Sheriff's office was called to the home last spring; Erin was suffering from paranoid delusions. According to the Postpartum Support International of Washington, that can be a symptom of serious postpartum depression.
According to court records, Erin was Michael's second wife. His first marriage ended in 2010 after 20 years.
After Erin Jordan was found on the floor of the bedroom suffering from a gunshot wound, she spent the last three weeks in the hospital recovering.
At the hospital she told a detective that she shot her husband and son to "save them." Charging papers say she was overwhelmed by major changes in her life, including leaving her job as a teacher and having a child.
Her next court hearing is Aug. 21.
The Associated Press contributed to this report