Crime & Safety

COURT PAPERS: Dean Holmes Says He Contemplated Suicide Before He Allegedly Killed Wife, Daughter

The 39-year-old was charged with first-degree aggravated murder in Pierce County Superior Court on Thursday.

Dean Holmes, 39, had contemplated killing himself before

Those were some of the details included in papers filed today in Pierce County Superior Court, where the Spanaway man was charged with first-degree aggravated murder.

According to the charging papers, Holmes said his family had been living above their means and he had been lying to his wife about their financial troubles for some time. She had confronted him about it and left him for a few months late last year, but had returned home and they were in the process of moving into a more affordable home - they were preparing to move on Tuesday. But, he had lied about that, too - there was no new home to move into. He admitted to detectives that the promise of a new home was a ruse on his part.

Find out what's happening in Bonney Lake-Sumnerwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Late in the evening of Aug. 28, Holmes took a .38 caliber gun out of his bedroom's dresser drawer and shot Kristi Holmes, his wife of 12 years, while she slept. Their 11-year-old daughter, Violet, was having a sleepover with a friend in the living room. Holmes told police a fan was blowing in the living room and the girls slept through the gunshots.

According to his statement to police, Holmes woke the girls up and drove them to her friend's home in Auburn. He dropped the friend off at her home and drove around with Violet in the backseat for some time.

Find out what's happening in Bonney Lake-Sumnerwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

At the corner of 22nd Ave. and 180th St., he pulled over, got out of the car and shot Violet several times through an open window in the backseat while she slept. Holmes told investigators he reasoned that Violet wouldn't be able to live with the knowledge that her mother was dead and her father was in prison for her murder.

With Violet's body still in the backseat, Holmes drove to a fast food restaurant and ordered food through a drive-through. He told police he contemplated suicide but couldn't pull the trigger.

Holmes drove Violet's body back to their Spanaway home on 20th Ave. Ct. E. and placed his daughter in bed with his wife's body. He told police he tried to clean up the evidence but realized that he wouldn't be able to. He said he then watched some TV then left his house and drove around aimlessly. He stopped at Ruston Way and sat by the waterfront before turning himself in to the Pierce County Jail just before 5 a.m. on Aug. 29.

(Click on the media gallery to view the declaration for determination of probable cause filed today in Pierce County Superior Court)

( to read our previous coverage)


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.

More from Bonney Lake-Sumner