FIRE DEPARTMENT CHIEF CLAIMED HIS WIFE DIED FROM A SEIZURE. THEN COPS FOUND OUT HE HAD A SECRET LOVER
A Washington State Fire Department battalion chief has been arrested in connection with his wife's death. In January, he had called 911 stating that his wife was having a seizure but he is now facing charges of murder, according to authorities. Marcy West, his wife, seemingly fell victim to being caught in a relationship with a man who just wasn't interested in being with her anymore, according to Columbian. Despite, Kevin's alleged best efforts to make the whole thing seem like an accident, the authorities monitored his movements post his wife's death and found that he had a secret lover.
Kevin works as battalion chief for the Camas-Washougal Fire Department. As per court documents, he had allegedly been unfaithful to his wife by engaging in an on-and-off affair with a woman he met in the early 2000s for 20 years when she joined as a volunteer at his fire station. On the day of her death, medics responded quickly to his 911 call claiming Marcy was having seizures. They tried to resuscitate Marcy unsuccessfully. She was declared dead at 5:11 a.m., according to court records.
Kevin told the authorities that he woke up in the middle of his sleep to the sight of his wife having seizures and immediately initiated CPR. He made no mention of any argument or fight they had before going to bed. Detectives noted obvious signs of trauma on Marcy's body and immediately sent her for autopsy. During the investigation, several people from the community came forward to raise their suspicions regarding Kevin and whether Marcy's death was from natural causes. Court records state, that a man came forward with the knowledge of the affair and informed the Sheriff's department. He also called Marcy's death “extremely weird and suspicious.”
On January 23, the authorities arrested Kevin after the medical examiner confirmed that Marcy West died due to suffocation with blunt trauma to the neck, as per KOIN News. During the investigation, Kevin accepted that his marriage faced occasional "bumps" with a severe breakdown in 2025 mainly due to financial woes. Statements showed that the couple had more than $100,000 in consumer debt. He did not deny his affair but remained adamant that he had no plans to leave his wife. “There’s no way I could ever leave Marcy,” he told investigators, according to the affidavit. “There’s no way I could ever go through with it.” The firefighter denied having ever hit Marcy during their marriage. “I spent my whole life helping people and saving people,” he said. “I never laid hands on my wife.”
Kevin's deleted messages were relaying a completely different story. There were proper plans in place from his side to leave his wife. He had texted his lover’s mother on January 3, saying: “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 … (us) to celebrate.” He also promised his girlfriend in his letters that, "2024 will be our year." There were also messages from Marcy's side that pointed out how she had been on the other side of Kevin's anger many times. He appeared in front of a judge on Monday, charged with first-degree murder. His bail was set at $1.5 million and an arrangement was set for April. He appeared via Zoom wearing a suicide-prevention smock, given to inmates who may try to harm themselves with standard jail clothing.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential.