Fort Lewis combat medic is dead after chase, wife and son found dead

Man dies from gunshot after I-5 police chase; wife, son also dead
A Fort Lewis combat medic is dead, along with his wife and 5-year-old son, in what appears to be a bizarre murder-suicide pieced together following a high-speed police chase on south Interstate 5 near Tumwater.

By Sara Jean Green and Christine Clarridge
Seattle Times staff reporters

Three members of a Joint Base Lewis-McChord family are dead after an Army combat medic killed himself and his wife, and police found the body of the couple's 5-year-old son in their Spanaway home, according to police and the military.

Authorities identified the soldier as 38-year-old David F. Stewart, who shot himself in the head as his disabled car was approached by a Washington State Patrol trooper after a high-speed chase along Interstate 5 near Tumwater, Thurston County. In the passenger seat was the body of his wife, Kristy Sampels, also 38, who also had suffered a gunshot wound to the head. Autopsies are scheduled for Wednesday, said Thurston County Coroner Gary Warnock.

Officials said the woman appeared to have been ill.

The child was found in the couple's home in Spanaway, Pierce County. The medical examiner identified him as Jordan Stewart. The cause of his death was not immediately released.

Sampels' 10-year-old daughter from a previous marriage initially was thought to be missing but was found safe with her father in Redmond, Ore., said sheriff's spokesman Detective Ed Troyer.

The bizarre events began just before 6 a.m., when a trooper on routine patrol clocked the driver of a silver Ford Focus going south on I-5 at 85 mph, said Trooper Guy Gill. The trooper pulled his patrol car behind the Focus and turned on his emergency lights in an attempt to pull the vehicle over, he said.

As soon as the car was stopped, the trooper saw the driver — Stewart — lift his hand to his head, a gesture followed by the sound of a gunshot, Gill said. Sampels' body was found in the passenger seat and Gill said it initially did not appear that she had been shot or injured during the collision.

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Man dies from gunshot after I-5 police chase