Man charged in Renton triple homicide that included child

A Seattle man has been charged with three counts of murder following a Renton incident that resulted in the death of two women and a child.

Steve Vasquez, 46, was charged July 23 by King County prosecutors with one count of first-degree aggravated domestic violence murder and two counts of first-degree aggravated murder. These charges stem from a July 19 incident in which Vasquez has been accused of shooting and killing his girlfriend Darcey Ann Moore, 46, whom he had been dating for about a month. He is also accused of shooting and killing his girlfriend’s sister, Jamie Lee Ray, 39, and then shooting and killing his girlfriend’s 9-year-old daughter, who is referred to as A.M.G. in court documents.

According to the King County Medical Examiner’s Office, Moore’s cause of death was multiple gunshot wounds, and her manner of death was homicide. Ray’s cause of death was from multiple gunshot wounds, and her manner of death was homicide.

The medical examiner’s office has yet to release A.M.G.’s cause of death and manner of death. However, according to court documents, all three of the deceased each suffered two gunshot wounds.

According to a GoFundMe to help cover costs associated with the death of the deceased, Moore left behind seven children and five grandchildren. According to the GoFundMe, Ray was a sister, aunt and friend who will be sorely missed alongside Moore and 9-year-old A.M.G., who is referred to as Alexia in the GoFundMe.

“She was just a young child that sadly was caught in the middle of a deadly situation that took her innocent life far too soon. She was always shy growing up, and was just starting to blossom,” the GoFundMe states. “She loved dancing and making her silly TikTok videos. Her wonderful potential, excitement for life, and joy of her friends and family was taken from us too early.”

Vasquez is being held on a $10 million bail at the King County Correctional Facility. His next court appearance is an arraignment scheduled for Aug. 6.

King County Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Brent Kling said that the brutality of the defendant’s conduct demonstrates that he is capable of violence on a devastating level, warranting a $10 million bail to ensure the safety of the community, according to court documents. Additionally, Kling cited that Vasquez was ordered to serve one day in jail for an unrelated crime by May 19, but he did not report to jail.

“His failure to appear for the single day of jail that he was ordered to serve, as well as his flight from the shooting scene in this case whereby he evaded arrest until police were able to locate him, demonstrate that he will likely not return to court as directed should any lesser conditions of release be imposed,” Kling stated.

Details of the incident

At about 7:36 p.m. July 19, Renton police officers were dispatched to a reported shooting in the area of Kirkland Avenue NE and NE 18th Street, which was later confirmed to be an apartment unit in the 1400 block of Hillcrest Lane NE. Documents state that a neighbor called in saying she was afraid, and there was something involving a gun.

Dispatch was advised that subjects were still inside the unit, and the suspected shooter was described as a Hispanic male in his 40s. Documents state that Vasquez was last seen wearing a red and black flannel, and had fled the scene on foot toward a nearby Safeway.

The witness to the incident said she knew both Vasquez and the deceased females. Additionally, documents state that the witness said she had seen some of the shooting.

According to documents, when officers responded to the apartment unit, immediately after looking through a glass sliding door into the unit, they viewed two female individuals on the ground, including a child, who had blood around them. Officers entered the unit, found another deceased female, and determined that all three appeared to have suffered gunshot wounds to their heads. All three females were declared dead at the scene, documents state.

The witness who saw some of the shooting stated that she was a close friend of Moore, who had recently started dating Vasquez. She stated that Vasquez had been at the home since the night of July 18, and she had been at the home with the deceased and Vasquez the day of the shootings, according to documents.

Documents state that just before the shooting, the witness and Ray were smoking outside the apartment before she heard a gunshot. The witness said that Ray then entered the residence, and just after she entered through the sliding glass door, the witness heard another gunshot and saw Ray drop to the ground, according to documents.

The witness then went to attend to Ray, and at that point, she saw Ray point a gun at A.M.G. The witness said that she then ran from the scene, and she did not see the shooting, but subsequently heard the gunshot, documents state.

According to documents, investigators obtained camera footage from inside the room where Moore’s body was found. The footage did not contain any audio. At about 6:33 p.m., Moore could be seen on video sitting on the bed and appeared to be speaking with Vasquez. During the two-minute clip, Vasquez could be seen holding an item consistent with a firearm, specifically a handgun. Vasquez could then be seen placing what appears to be a magazine inside the firearm and hitting the base of the magazine into the gun.

Documents state that Vazquez could be seen standing with the firearm in his right hand and making a swooping motion up toward the ceiling. Vasquez continued to manipulate the gun, removing the magazine and holding it in his hand with the firearm, documents state.

As the video clip comes to a close, Vasquez approaches the video camera and appears to turn it around so that it no longer records any visual depictions of the interior of the bedroom. The video footage was captured about 57 minutes before police found the three deceased females.

According to documents, investigators then located Vasquez’s phone number and tracked him to the 9400 block of 37th Avenue SW in Burien. Documents state that investigators took Vasquez into custody without incident.