Eliana Huizar’s 17-year-old girlfriend and the mother of his 1-year-old son were found dead at the home of the former Washington state school safety officer, West Richland Police Department said at a news conference Wednesday. Huizar was accused of kidnapping her.
Huizar killed himself with a gun on Tuesday, after taking police in Oregon on a car chase.
Police boss Thomas Grego said that his girlfriend Angelica Santos was also raped as a child in the third degree.
Authorities said Wednesday that the cause of Santos’ death has not yet been confirmed as an autopsy is still being done.
Benton County Prosecutor Eric Eisinger says it’s not clear why Santos was killed. He also said that a protection order had been made against Huizar on behalf of Santos.
Huizar was also charged with second-degree rape in February, according to reports from the jail. Eisinger also said that this charge is different from the third-degree rape charge against Santos.
According to the Tri-City Herald, he was freed on a $200,000 loan. Eisinger did not name the person who was raped in the second degree or say how old they were on Wednesday.
It was said by the city of Yakima that Huizar had worked there until February 2022, but they didn’t say why he quit. His first day on the job as a school security officer was in 2018, as shown by Facebook posts from the Yakima Police Department in December 2014.
Tuesday on Facebook, Yakima Police said that Huizar had left the force in 2021 “after receiving discipline.”
CNN reported that Huizar is also suspected of shooting and killing his ex-wife Amber Rodriguez on Monday outside of William Wiley Elementary School in West Richland.
The head of Oregon’s state police was put on leave.
Oregon State Police Capt. Kyle Kennedy says that the head of the Oregon State Police and two other officers who helped chase Huizar on Tuesday have been put on leave.
Kennedy says it’s not clear how long Oregon State Police Superintendent Casey Codding will be away. “The timeline will depend on how the investigation goes,” he told CNN.
Kennedy said it “is standard procedure” to put troopers on paid administrative leave after a shooting involving an officer.
It was clear that the superintendent’s case was special, he said.
“According to Oregon law, the assistant superintendent has the same power as the superintendent when the superintendent is not available. “This is a smooth transition, and we look forward to his return,” Kennedy said.
Huizar was being chased by Oregon State Police after they saw the car he was driving on Interstate 5 near Eugene, Oregon, at 2:40 p.m. local time, Kennedy said.
“There was a small accident on the highway, and the suspect car lost control.” Gunfire was fired at this spot before the suspect car drove off again, this time on the interstate, Kennedy said. He said they don’t know of anyone who was hurt by the gunshots.
Kennedy said that Huizar’s car finally hit another car, spun into a median, and stopped moving.
“As troopers approached the suspect’s car, the suspect shot himself and killed himself,” Kennedy said.
Roman Santos, a 1-year-old boy, was in the car and not hurt, according to Kennedy. An Amber Alert had been sent out earlier by officials in Washington state because they thought Huizar had taken him. Police said that officers took him away safely and gave him to the care of officials in Oregon.
