Washington state officials identify second body found at ex-officer’s home as girlfriend and mother of kidnapped child
By Amanda Musa, Melissa Alonso and Jillian Sykes, CNN
(CNN) — The second body found at the home of former Washington state school resource officer Elias Huizar was that of his 17-year-old girlfriend and mother of his 1-year-old son whom he was accused of kidnapping, West Richland Police Department confirmed at a news conference Wednesday.
Huizar died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound Tuesday after leading Oregon police on a vehicle chase.
Angelica Santos, his girlfriend, was also the victim of child rape in the third degree, police chief Thomas Grego said.
Santos’ cause of death is still undetermined pending an autopsy, officials said Wednesday.
A motive for Santos’ homicide is unclear, according to Benton County Prosecutor Eric Eisinger. However, a protection order on behalf of Santos had been filed against Huizar, he added.
Jail records show Huizar was also charged with second-degree rape in February. This charge is separate from the third-degree rape charge involving Santos, Eisinger added.
He was released on a $200,000 bond, according to the Tri-City Herald. On Wednesday, Eisinger did not identify the victim of the second-degree rape or disclose their age.
At the time of the arrest, the city of Yakima said Huizar had been an employee there until February 2022, but didn’t say why he left. Facebook posts from the Yakima Police Department show he joined the department in December 2014 and began serving as a school resource officer in 2018.
In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Yakima Police said that Huizar left the department in 2021 “after receiving discipline.”
Huizar is also accused of fatally shooting his ex-wife, Amber Rodriguez, outside of William Wiley Elementary School in West Richland on Monday, CNN previously reported.
Superintendent of Oregon state troopers placed on leave
The head of Oregon State Police and two other officers involved in Huizar’s pursuit on Tuesday have been placed on leave, according to Oregon State Police Capt. Kyle Kennedy.
It is unclear how long Oregon State Police Superintendent Casey Codding will be on leave, according to Kennedy. “The timeline will be determined by the investigative process,” he told CNN.
It “is standard procedure” to place troopers on paid administrative leave after an officer-involved shooting, said Kennedy.
“Obviously, there is a unique circumstance with the superintendent,” he said.
“In Oregon, the deputy superintendent statutorily has the authority of the superintendent when the superintendent is unavailable. There is a seamless transition here and we look forward to his return,” said Kennedy.
Oregon State Police troopers began pursuing Huizar after they saw a car he was driving on Interstate 5 near Eugene, Oregon, around 2:40 p.m. local time, Kennedy said.
“There was a minor collision (on the highway), and the suspect vehicle lost control. There was an exchange of gunfire at this location before the suspect vehicle fled again … on the interstate,” Kennedy said. No one is known to have been injured from that gunfire, he said.
Huizar’s vehicle eventually crashed into another vehicle, spun into a median and became immobile, Kennedy said.
“As troopers contacted the suspect vehicle, the suspect died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound,” Kennedy said.
The 1-year-old boy, Roman Santos, for whom Washington state authorities had earlier issued an Amber Alert on the belief that Huizar had abducted him, was in the vehicle uninjured, Kennedy said. Officers safely removed him, and he was put in the care of Oregon authorities, police said.
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CNN’s Andy Rose contributed to this report.
