Doctor found competent to stand trial in deaths of partner, son
SEATTLE -- The Seattle doctor accused of stabbing his partner and their young son to death has been found competent to stand trial.
Louis Chen has been charged with two counts of aggravated first-degree murder in the August deaths inside the couple's First Hill condominium. If convicted, he faces a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
The victims' bodies were found after officials at Virginia Mason Hospital grew concerned when Chen, who had recently been hired at the hospital, did not show up for an orientation session. According to police, a co-worker went to Chen's apartment and discovered him, nude and covered in blood.
Police rushed to the building and found what they described as a "horrific" scene inside. When investigators asked Chen, who was also injured, who had attacked him and his partner, Chen responded "I did," according to court documents.
Investigators said they found five knives covered in dried blood strewn about the apartment, and an autopsy conducted on Chen's partner showed he was stabbed more than 100 times.
Chen and the two victims had been living together in the 17th-floor unit at the M Street Apartments for about a month.
According to records obtained by KOMO News, Chen had just moved to Seattle with his partner and son from Durham, N.C., where he had just wrapped up a residency studying endocrinology at Duke University.
Investigators have not said what they believe prompted the attack.
The King County Prosecutor's Office, after reviewing the case, decided not to pursue the death penalty in the case.
Louis Chen has been charged with two counts of aggravated first-degree murder in the August deaths inside the couple's First Hill condominium. If convicted, he faces a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
The victims' bodies were found after officials at Virginia Mason Hospital grew concerned when Chen, who had recently been hired at the hospital, did not show up for an orientation session. According to police, a co-worker went to Chen's apartment and discovered him, nude and covered in blood.
Police rushed to the building and found what they described as a "horrific" scene inside. When investigators asked Chen, who was also injured, who had attacked him and his partner, Chen responded "I did," according to court documents.
Investigators said they found five knives covered in dried blood strewn about the apartment, and an autopsy conducted on Chen's partner showed he was stabbed more than 100 times.
Chen and the two victims had been living together in the 17th-floor unit at the M Street Apartments for about a month.
According to records obtained by KOMO News, Chen had just moved to Seattle with his partner and son from Durham, N.C., where he had just wrapped up a residency studying endocrinology at Duke University.
Investigators have not said what they believe prompted the attack.
The King County Prosecutor's Office, after reviewing the case, decided not to pursue the death penalty in the case.
Learn about changes coming to commenting