A mother’s unexplained absence from work led police to a horrifying discovery inside an Oregon home, where three generations of the same family were found shot to death in what investigators believe was an act of domestic violence.
Katie Lynn Kinder, 47, her 15-year-old son, Evan Scott Kinder, and her 78-year-old mother, Patricia Lynn Campbell, were discovered dead Tuesday, October 20, inside their home in Happy Valley, a suburb southeast of Portland.
Authorities identified Katie’s boyfriend, 45-year-old Edward Villa, as the suspected killer. He was later found dead inside a motel room along the Oregon coast after federal agents tracked him down.
The investigation began Monday, October 19, when Katie failed to arrive at work.
Concerned by her unexpected absence, her employer contacted Happy Valley police and requested a welfare check at her home on Southeast Highpointe Street.
Officers visited the residence but were unable to reach Katie or anyone else inside. Attempts to contact her mother, who was listed as an emergency contact, were also unsuccessful.
When Katie failed to show up for work again the following morning, the concern grew.
Her coworkers went to the house while police continued trying to locate the missing woman. After gaining access to the residence, they summoned officers, who discovered the three family members dead shortly before 12:30 p.m.
The discovery launched an urgent homicide investigation involving the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office, local police and medical examiner’s investigators.
Autopsies conducted Wednesday confirmed that all three victims had died from gunshot wounds.
Detectives soon focused on Villa, who had been living at the home with Katie, Evan and Patricia.
Investigators learned that Villa, like Katie, had failed to report to work on both Monday and Tuesday.
He had been employed by the North Clackamas School District since 2007, most recently working as a student and community engagement specialist.
As detectives reconstructed his movements, they uncovered information suggesting he had traveled toward Oregon’s northern coast.
Investigators established probable cause to believe Villa was responsible for the three killings, and a warrant was issued for his arrest on three counts of first-degree murder.
By Wednesday, October 21, authorities had tracked his vehicle to the South Jetty Inn in Hammond, a small coastal community near Astoria.
Around 1 p.m., members of the U.S. Marshals Service surrounded the motel and attempted to establish contact with Villa.
But before officers could take him into custody, they heard what appeared to be a single gunshot from inside his room.
When authorities entered, they found Villa dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
His death brought the search for the suspect to an end, but investigators have not publicly established what led to the killings.
Clackamas County Sheriff James Rhodes described the loss of three lives as heartbreaking and praised the cooperation between local, state and federal authorities that helped investigators locate Villa so quickly.
Happy Valley Police Chief Marcus Mendoza also acknowledged the devastating impact on a community where such violence is uncommon.
For the victims’ relatives, however, the end of the manhunt offered little comfort.
In an emotional statement released through the sheriff’s office Thursday, October 22, surviving family members described their grief over losing three loved ones in the same tragedy.
“Our family is living through a nightmare that no family should ever have to experience,” they said.
They remembered Patricia as a loving mother and grandmother who helped hold the family together, while Katie was described as someone who brought laughter and happiness to those around her.
Evan, meanwhile, was a teenager whose future had barely begun.
He was a 10th-grade student at New Urban Online, a program within the North Clackamas School District.
The district confirmed his death and expressed condolences to his family, classmates and the wider school community.
The tragedy has also shaken those who knew Villa through his longtime work with students.
School officials confirmed that he had spent nearly two decades working for the district, making the allegations especially troubling for employees and families familiar with him.
The sheriff’s office has not identified a motive, and investigators have not disclosed whether there had been previous reports of domestic violence involving the household.
Authorities have said they do not believe there is an ongoing threat to the public.
Although the suspected killer is dead, detectives are continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding the three deaths and are asking anyone with relevant information to come forward.
For the Kinder and Campbell families, the tragedy has left an enormous void.
What began with coworkers worrying about a woman’s unexplained absence from work ended with the discovery that a mother, her teenage son and her elderly mother had all lost their lives.
Now, as investigators work to answer the remaining questions, loved ones are remembering three people whose lives meant far more than the circumstances of their deaths.
