SPOKANE, Wash. — A woman was found dead in her Spokane apartment Thursday after a welfare check was requested when she failed to pick up her children from daycare. The man arrested for her murder is her ex-boyfriend, according to court documents.
45-year-old Jean Kirkpatrick was arrested Thursday and charged with second-degree murder. He reportedly has 11 prior felony convictions and, in the last month, has received two misdemeanor convictions for violating a no-contact order and interfering with a domestic violence report.
According to court documents, daycare workers called 911 to request a welfare check for a mother. Employees told police the woman had not arrived to pick up her two children and was not responding to phone calls.
Police arrived at the apartment and tried knocking on the door several times with no answer. Officers then contacted building security and requested security footage. In the footage, they were able to see the woman entering her apartment with Kirkpatrick at approximately 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. The two were reportedly arguing in the footage.
At 5:13 p.m., Kirkpatrick was seen leaving the apartment carrying a black bag, getting into his car and driving away. The woman was never seen leaving the apartment.
Officers used a key fob from security to unlock the door where the woman was found dead inside her apartment from what appeared to be knife wounds.
According to documents, Kirkpatrick's vehicle was spotted in the parking lot of Sunset Grocery at 1908 West Sunset Boulevard, where he was ultimately arrested.
Less than 24 hours before the woman's death, police responded to a domestic violence call between the woman and Kirkpatrick. According to court documents, Kirkpatrick tried to break into the woman's apartment. When she opened the door, documents say he pushed his way in.
The two were arguing and he left with a bottle of rum, according to documents. The woman told police she recently broke up with Kirkpatrick but that he continued to harass her.
Kirkpatrick is being held in the Spokane County Jail on a $1 million bond.
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