VANCOUVER, Wash. — On Monday, a Clark County courtroom was packed as family, friends and coworkers watched for the appearance of Camas-Washougal fire battalion chief Kevin West, accused of killing his wife back in early January.
“The motion is primarily based on the nature of the allegations and the information obtained in the probable cause affidavit,” said Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney for Clark County, Jessica Smith. “There are indications he had deleted text messages with a number of people, including the woman who he was having an affair with.”
West was arrested last Friday and is facing a murder charge after initially telling investigators his wife was having a seizure and had stopped breathing. He said he called 911 but Marcelle "Marcy" West was dead when paramedics arrived.
Speculation started to swirl about what may have happened.
Following Marcy's death, the Clark County Sheriff's Office took over the investigation from the Washougal Police Department to avoid any conflict of interest due to West's job. He had been a firefighter for the Camas-Washougal Fire Department for 22 years, according to the city of Camas.
In court on Monday, the prosecuting attorney said West had planned to "end things" with his wife Marcy or move out of their home by Jan. 8, the day she died.
The sheriff's office said several people were concerned about the couple's relationship and informed police. During their investigation, detectives learned the couple had marital and financial problems, including being in about $100,000 in debt.
According to a probable cause affidavit, West told investigators after they learned that he'd had an affair that "there’s no way, I could ever leave Marcy" or follow through with a divorce, saying that "Marcy and I had too much together." When asked by investigators, West said he had no intention of continuing his relationship with the other woman if something were to happen to his wife.
“When he was later asked about (the name of the other woman) he fully admitted he had had this affair," said Brian Walker, West’s attorney. "He wasn't hiding it. He was just never asked about it and was not eager to talk about it.”
In a search of West's house, love letters addressed to the woman from West were found, saying "next year, 2024 will be our year. We will be together celebrating everyday with love and understanding of what it means for you and I to be together. Our Story will ring in the New Year loud for all to hear!"
Another love letter read:
"There have been so many special memories we have shared in such a short period of time. Just imagine what memories we will create having each other everyday! You and I were seamlessly created for each other. I want you more and more everyday, I love you more and more everyday."
Through a search warrant, investigators seized the phones that belonged to both West and his wife. West's phone showed that he had tried to delete his wife's phone number and all text messages with her. But investigators were able to find several text threads under the "Show Recently Deleted" tab, revealing that the couple were having financial stress about an upcoming payment, according to the affidavit.
Deleted messages recovered between West and his mother showed that she knew about the affair, his intent to be in a full-time relationship with the other woman, and that he had spoken with a divorce lawyer. He had also told his girlfriend's brother-in-law leading up the night his wife died that “I’m moving out on Monday” and “Papers done Tuesday," according to the affidavit.
West texted his girlfriend's mom on Jan. 3, “I’m meeting my attorney on the 9th and I will have options to decide from and I’m very excited. I will also be moving out on the 8th. Next week will be a big week for (she) and I to celebrate. I love you."
During the investigation, detectives knew from a primary autopsy that Marcy West's body showed some injuries relating to strangulation, but nothing obvious had suggested what happened. According to the affidavit, there was never any clear evidence of a natural cause or disease that could be attributed to Marcy's death.
Then, on March 20, an autopsy by the medical examiner concluded that Marcy had died of asphyxia and blunt trauma to the neck. Her death was ruled a homicide.
“Mr. West gave several interviews to detectives,” said Sgt. Christopher Skidmore with the Clark County Sheriff's Office. “And so kind of the statements that he had made versus what they were able to find through the search warrants, (we) got information from phone conversations and text messages that maybe painted a different picture — not necessarily about what events took place but kind of the timeline was a piece of it.”
On Monday, West appeared virtually for his arraignment at the Clark County Courthouse. The judge set a $1.5 million bail for West. His next court date is at 9 a.m., April 9.