Victim in murder-suicide was in long-running dispute with suspect

COVINGTON, Wash. — A Covington woman was in a long-running dispute with a housemate but her family never expected he would kill himself after he killed her.

Now they are trying to make sense of this tragedy.

The 30-year-old woman was shot and killed during an hours-long standoff in Covington last Thursday.

Now her family is speaking out about the woman whose life was cut short.

"She's had a rough run but she always came home," said her sister, Malissa Hill. "She went through some rough stuff but she made it through."

The pictures of 30-year-old Jennifer Sines, Jenny to those she loved, show a woman so full of life it is hard to imagine that hers has come to a sudden end.

Scroll down to continue reading

More news from KIRO 7

• Woman survives stabbing by Tinder date, man dies in police custody
• Woman in critical condition after ex violated restraining order and ran her off road
• Dog missing four years found on Christmas Eve, reunited with owners
• Good Samaritan says driver in deadly accident not being 'held accountable'
• Do you have an investigative story tip? Send us an email at investigate@kiro7.com

DOWNLOAD OUR FREE NEWS APP

Chopper 7 was over the Covington house last Thursday she shared with five other adults, including a 32-year-old man.  It was the conclusion of a three-hour standoff in which King County sheriff's deputies say the man shot and killed Sines, then turned the gun on himself.

"I would never imagine our family being in this position," said Tanner Sullivan-Sines, her youngest brother.

Her family gathered in a house in Auburn to share their grief. They said Jenny and her housemate had a running dispute; that the landlord was evicting him that day.

"He had placed his hands on her during that because he was frustrated," said Hill. "Certain things started happening in the house, in the common areas, were missing. People were just trying to figure out who it was."

What is so heartbreaking to Jenny's family is that she wasn't even supposed to be in that house the day she died. She was supposed to be joining a rehabilitation program, to help others, like she, who had issues with substance abuse. But her appointment was changed to Jan. 2.

"She was my partner," said Hill.  "She was my best friend. She was my confidante in everything."

Now they are remembering a daughter, a sister, an aunt, a dear friend.

"Second mom to my little one," said Hill, caressing her daughter. "She loved her so much. But she was amazing."

But her unexpected death has left them strapped for cash.

"I've seen plenty of 'GoFundMes' out there," said her brother. "And I've donated myself and I know my family has donated to others. And we never thought we'd be in the position to actually post them because we need help."

A link to the GoFundMe page can be found here.

Cox Media Group