A high-ranking firefighter charged with strangling his wife to death and then telling investigators she died of a seizure was having an affair with another woman and had planned to move out the day of the killing, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Battalion Chief Kevin West was arrested Friday on a first-degree murder charge in the death of his wife of 22 years, Marcelle "Marcy" West, 48. He has since been placed on unpaid leave.
Kevin Told Cops He Woke Up to Marcy Having a Seizure But Medical Examiner Found Injuries Consistent with Strangulation
First responders from West's own department rushed to the family's home in Washougal around 4 a.m. Jan. 8, where West, 50, said he woke up, saw his wife was having a seizure and desperately performed CPR, according to the affidavit.
A medical examiner, however, noted bruises and under-the-skin bleeding on Marcy West's neck and jaw — injuries consistent with death by strangulation, the affidavit said.
Cops Received Tip-Off About Kevin's Alleged Affair with Another Woman
A tipster also contacted police, saying he'd seen Kevin at a bowling alley with another woman, Cynthia Ward, about a year ago and believed the two were having an affair, the affidavit said.
Investigators wrote in the affidavit that they arrived at the West home on Jan. 31 to interview Kevin and saw Ward's car parked in the driveway. Yet West told the detectives during the interview that he and his wife had spent their last night together happily watching movies and eating Chinese take-out, the affidavit said. The couple had been able to "rediscover what we have," Kevin said.
When pressed, Kevin admitted to the affair with Ward, saying they met when she interned for the fire department in the early 2000s and had begun an affair in 2004, broke it off but then reignited the relationship in August, according to the affidavit.
Kevin Had Plans to Divorce Marcy
Still, West told investigators: "I talked about divorce but ... there's no way I could go through with it," according to the affidavit. "Marcy and I had too much together." Detectives say they found contradictory evidence after searching the Wests' home and their cellphones.
In a box in the garage, police found a love letter to Ward from Kevin West promising "2024 will be our year" as well as text messages discussing divorce papers and references to Kevin West's plans to move out on Jan. 8 and meet with his attorney the next day, according to the affidavit.
Kevin is currently in custody at the Clark County jail on a $1.5 million bail.
