Investigators are now examining whether anything more could have been done before a Mason County woman and her boyfriend were shot to death.

HOODSPORT, Wash. — A Mason County man is accused of killing his estranged wife and her boyfriend with a shotgun at a Hoodsport home on March 24, one day after a judge granted the woman a protection order that had not yet been served, authorities said.

What makes the case stand out is not only the double-murder allegation, but the short gap between the court order and the shootings. Prosecutors have charged Robert T. Child, 60, with two counts of first-degree murder and first-degree burglary, and local reporting says investigators are reviewing how a woman who told the court she did not feel safe was dead the next evening.

Anna Child filed for a protection order on March 9 as her divorce moved forward. In that filing, she said her estranged husband treated her like a possession and wrote that he had said, “If he can’t have me, no one will.” A judge granted the order on Monday, March 23, barring Robert Child from coming within 250 feet of her. By Tuesday evening, Anna Child, 46, and Jason Hilde, 46, were at a home on North Hamma Hamma Drive East in Hoodsport when investigators say Robert Child came inside armed with a shotgun. Deputies were sent to the house at about 7 p.m. after reports of gunfire. When they arrived, they found Hilde near the front door with a fatal gunshot wound and Anna Child on a stairway inside the home with gunshot injuries. A shotgun and spent shells were recovered inside the residence.

The order, sheriff’s officials said, had been approved but not yet served. That detail has become one of the most closely watched parts of the case. Mason County Sheriff Ryan Spurling said the agency had not had a chance to serve the order before the killings, and he ordered a review into whether deputies could have done more. Court records cited by local television stations say witnesses placed Robert Child at the scene. One witness told investigators he saw Child leaving the home. Another, a teenager who was inside, said Child entered with a shotgun, shouted while looking for someone, and that gunshots followed. A separate witness told deputies Child said he would not go back to jail and would kill anyone who tried to follow him. Those accounts have not been tested in court, and investigators have not publicly described any evidence that the victims fired a weapon.

The setting adds to the case’s weight. Hoodsport is a small community on the Hood Canal where serious violent crime does not often draw regionwide attention, but domestic violence cases can turn deadly with little warning. Here, the official record already showed the marriage was breaking down. Anna Child had gone to court. A judge had acted. The suspect was not living at the home at the time, according to court records cited by KOMO. Investigators also said Child is a convicted felon, which would make gun possession illegal for him. That allegation led to an added count of unlawful possession of a firearm in some local reporting, though the earliest charging reports centered on two murder counts and burglary. The exact sequence of service efforts, who knew what on March 24, and whether any earlier intervention was possible are still unresolved.

The criminal case moved quickly after the shooting. Deputies launched a manhunt Tuesday night, circulated information about a white pickup truck, and arrested Child on Wednesday. He later appeared in court, where KING reported a judge set bail at $5 million after prosecutors sought a lower amount. He was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and first-degree burglary, and local coverage says the case may also include unlawful possession of a firearm. As of the latest public reports, no plea or defense statement had been widely reported. Investigators also obtained a search warrant for the home and vehicles, including possible dashboard-camera footage from vehicles parked outside. The sheriff’s office has said the criminal investigation remains active while the internal review of the unserved protection order continues on a separate track.

For neighbors and relatives, the case has been defined less by legal language than by the plain facts of the loss. Caleb McGill, a neighbor who spoke to KING, said he heard the blasts, called 911 and moved toward the home. “What did you do?” he recalled asking as he encountered Child outside. McGill said the reply was that the victims had pointed a gun at him. Authorities have not publicly backed that claim. Friends and family also began mourning Jason Hilde soon after the arrest. In television interviews, the people around the case described a gruesome scene and a small community shaken by violence that followed a warning already written into a court file.

The case now stands at two levels at once: a homicide prosecution against Robert Child and an official review into why a freshly granted protection order had not been served before March 24. The next milestones are the defendant’s later court hearings and any public findings from the sheriff’s review.

Author note: Last updated April 19, 2026.