Police continue investigating deaths

By ERICA JAHN

Staff writer

A woman found dead in an apartment in Federal Way died of a single gunshot wound to the back, the King County Medical Examiner’s office announced earlier this week.

The medical examiner’s investigators, who conducted an autopsy Monday on Jacquelyn “Katie” Weins, 51, listed her death as a homicide, medical examiner spokesman James Appa said.

Investigators had not determined the identity of a 25-year-old male also found dead in the apartment, located in the Chelsea Court complex in the 2500 block of South 317th Place, nor had they determined the cause and manner of his death by press time.

Employees at Marlene’s Market and Deli, where Weins once worked, are mourning her death.

“We all are feeling very sad about it. We wonder what happened,” market owner Marlene Beadle said. “Katie was the kind of person who would always do for someone else before she’d do for herself.”

Federal Way Police responded to the apartment complex on June 30 after someone called to report that the residents hadn’t been heard from in a while, police spokesman Kurt Schwan said.

Police entered the apartment through a back sliding patio door, which was open, and found the bodies of Weins and the 25-year-old man in a bedroom. Both appeared to have died of gunshot wounds.

During the investigation, detectives found a revolver believed to be connected to the deaths, Schwan said.

There were no signs of burglary or forced entry into the apartment, he said.

Police are still trying to establish the relationship between Weins and the male victim, according to Schwan.

Beadle said the man might have been someone Weins was trying to help.

“She was just befriending him and helping him out,” she said.

Staff writer Erica Jahn can be reached at 925-5565 and ejahn@fedwaymirror.com

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