Authorities say the violence began after a breakup confrontation and unfolded as relatives and friends came to check on one another.

FOREST GROVE, Ore. — Investigators say five people found dead at a rural Washington County property in August were killed in a premeditated sequence that began after a dispute between 26-year-old Stella Jade Kimsey and her boyfriend, Benjamin Charles Parker, 36, and ended after relatives and friends came to the property trying to reach her.

The Washington County Sheriff’s Office identified the victims as Stella Kimsey; her mother, Rowan Karla Kimsey, 60; her grandmother, Mary Elizabeth Kimsey, 85; her best friend, Linsey Mae Haraldsen, 26; and Haraldsen’s partner, Alvin Raymond Chu, 27. Parker, whom detectives identified as the suspect, was found dead the next day in Enumclaw, Washington. Authorities said they believe he died by suicide. Investigators have said the case was not random and that evidence processing, laboratory work and reconstruction of the timeline could take months.

Detectives said the sequence appears to have begun late Aug. 20 or early Aug. 21, when Stella Kimsey and Parker had what Mary Kimsey described in a text message to a friend as a serious fight. Stella told Parker he had to leave, lead detective Mark Povolny said at an Aug. 25 briefing. The sheriff’s office has not announced a full motive, but investigators said the violence developed from an intimate-partner conflict. Stella and Parker had been dating since sometime in 2025 and lived together in the main home on the property, which was owned by Rowan Kimsey.

By Friday evening, Haraldsen was on the phone with Stella when the call ended abruptly, investigators said. Unable to reach her again, Haraldsen called the property and spoke with Rowan, who said she would check on her daughter and call back. That return call never came. Haraldsen then drove to the property herself. Mary Kimsey, meanwhile, was texting an out-of-state friend as concern grew over the silence. Investigators said Mary later picked up Chu and the two also headed toward Otis Lane after attempts to reach Stella, Rowan and Haraldsen failed.

Based on phone records, physical evidence and the location of the victims, detectives believe Stella was killed first. Rowan was killed after she went to check on her daughter. Haraldsen was killed after she arrived looking for Stella and Rowan. Mary and Chu arrived together later and were also killed. Authorities have said each victim was shot with a .22-caliber firearm. At least four had multiple gunshot wounds, according to investigators. The sheriff’s office has not released complete autopsy findings, and some forensic testing remained unfinished after the initial briefings.

The case came to light shortly after 5 a.m. Aug. 22, when a neighbor reported flames visible through the trees near the rural property at 47350 N.W. Otis Lane, outside Forest Grove. Firefighters initially responded to what appeared to be a vehicle fire. After crews extinguished enough of the blaze to see human remains, they asked law enforcement to respond and withdrew until deputies could secure the area. Deputies then searched a property containing multiple buildings and outbuildings and found all five victims in or near the driveway by the main residence.

Investigators later said Chu was found inside the vehicle that had burned, while Mary Kimsey was found outside it. Stella was found in another vehicle, Haraldsen was on the ground nearby, and Rowan was found near the walkway leading toward the home. Detectives also said several separate fires had been set around the scene and that there had been unsuccessful attempts to ignite additional parts of the property. Early reports suggesting some victims might have been bound were later corrected. Povolny said investigators found no evidence the victims had been tied up or moved after they were killed.

The scene included more than the five deaths. Two dogs and two cats were found dead, and another cat was taken for emergency veterinary treatment before being euthanized because of its injuries, the sheriff’s office said. Investigators said the animals had been shot. Livestock on the 15-acre property were later fed, cared for and rehomed with the family’s approval. The presence of multiple victims, fires, animals and numerous structures contributed to what Sheriff Caprice Massey called an unusually complex investigation involving more than 100 people from local, state and federal agencies.

Cellphone records became central to identifying Parker as the suspect rather than another possible victim, investigators said. Data showed his phone leaving the property early Saturday and later appearing near Enumclaw, about 190 miles away. Detectives said they learned he had driven a Toyota pickup registered to Rowan Kimsey. As investigators prepared to seek an arrest warrant charging him with five counts of first-degree murder, Parker’s mother told detectives that he had called her Saturday night and confessed, according to the sheriff’s office.

Investigators said Parker told his mother he had planned the killings for some time, acknowledged setting fires and killing the animals, and said he had driven away as emergency crews were beginning to respond. Authorities have not released an independent recording of that conversation, and the account comes through investigators describing what Parker’s mother reported to them. The sheriff’s office said the call helped strengthen detectives’ conclusion that Parker was responsible, but investigators have continued examining digital records, physical evidence and forensic testing to establish a complete chronology and determine what can be confirmed beyond the reported confession.

Police in Enumclaw used license-plate reader information to locate the pickup behind a Safeway on Aug. 23. Officers had been warned that Parker might be armed and approached after determining the vehicle had likely remained in the area. He was found dead inside. Authorities said a small-caliber handgun was recovered and investigators believed it might be the same weapon used in the Oregon killings, though a firearms trace and other testing were still underway when officials described the case publicly. The sheriff’s office said Parker’s death ended the immediate search for a suspect but did not close the homicide investigation.

As investigators released the timeline, the Kimsey family also tried to shift attention toward the people who were killed. In a statement read by the sheriff’s office, relatives described Mary as the matriarch of a close family, Stella as passionate and happiest living on the land, and Rowan as an artist and mentor whose work included traditional art and tattooing. The family said Haraldsen had long been treated like a sister within the family and was a deeply valued friend. Chu’s family asked that his photograph not be released, and the families of Haraldsen and Chu asked news organizations not to seek interviews.

Stella’s sister, Alexis Callen, also asked the public to treat Parker’s relatives with compassion, saying they were facing grief of their own. That request came as county officials described the case as rooted in domestic violence and as advocates emphasized the risks that can arise when an abusive or volatile relationship is ending. Authorities said they found no record that Stella or Parker had previously called 911 over their relationship and no record of a restraining order or gun-removal order involving Parker. Investigators have not said that the absence of prior reports meant there had been no earlier problems.

The sheriff’s office said the final investigative picture will depend on laboratory analysis, digital evidence, firearms work, autopsy findings and further witness interviews. No prosecution is expected because Parker is dead, but officials said the Major Crimes Team will continue working to answer unresolved questions for the victims’ families, including the exact timing of each death and the full circumstances surrounding the killings. Authorities have continued to seek information from people familiar with the residents, the property or events leading up to Aug. 22.

Author note: Last updated September 30, 2026.