The bodies of the couple who were allegedly murdered by their tenant were believed to have been found after police were called to the gruesome discovery on Saturday afternoon.
A manhunt was launched for Davido and Karen Koep after they went missing on November 10, and on November 18 Timothy Burke, 45, was arrested in connection to their disappearance.
On Saturday, sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the report of a body found off of Stedman Road Southeast on Joint Base Lewis-McChord land in Olympia, Washington, and a second body was found during the investigation.
The Thurston County Sheriff’s Department stated that a preliminary investigation has led authorities to believe the bodies of Davido and Karen were located, though coroner results will ‘positively identify the deceased.’
‘Nothing that occurred today is going to bring Karen and Davido back,’ Sheriff Derek Sanders said in a press conference Saturday evening.
Two bodied that were discovered on Saturday afternoon in Olympia, Washington, are believed to be Davido and Karen Koep, the couple who went missing on November 10
Thurston County Sheriff Derek Sanders appeared in a press conference on Saturday evening to address the findings
On November 20, Burke, who was arrested for first-degree murder and kidnapping, made a preliminary appearance. The Thurston County Superior Court denied his release.
Davido was known as a successful landlord to several properties in the area and Karen was a well-known chiropractor, who raised alarms when she didn’t show up for work one morning.
The victim’s two sons and their wives attended the court hearing and were seen wiping away tears and comforting each other. Prosecutor Jennifer Lord said ‘the amount of blood that was in the home was unsurvivable.’
‘Further, there was blood found in both Mister Burke’s vehicle and there was blood found in Ms. (Koep’s) vehicle,’ Lord said at this week’s bail hearing.
During the hearing, a family friend was heard shouting from the gallery ‘Tell him to give that family some closure and tell them where the bodies are.’
The scene was discovered by deputies who visited the couple’s Lacey home to do a welfare check after they disappeared on November 10.
During the recent press conference, Sanders revealed the bodies found on Saturday were ‘less than half a mile’ from where Burke lived.
Court documents stated that responding detectives found large pools of blood at the couple’s home, along with signs that someone had tried to clean it up.
According to court documents, Burke was a tenant living on an Olympia property Davido owned alongside several other properties.
Investigators found ‘very negative’ emails from Burke to Davido.
Timothy Burke was arrested on November 18 for first degree murder and kidnapping made a preliminary appearance
Police found no sign of the couple when they were called by anxious friends to a welfare check at their lakeside home in Lacey after Karen failed to show at work in early November
Davido was known as a successful landlord to several properties in the area and Karen was a well-known chiropractor who raised alarms when she didn’t show up for work one morning
A close friend told investigators Davido was preparing to evict Burke.
‘I believe this was definitely a dispute, a tenant dispute. They own property and he was a tenant,’ Pauline Dutton, Koep’s sister told KOMO News.
Prosecutors said their strongest evidence is that shell casings from Burke’s .45-caliber weapon were found in the couple’s home.
Authorities believe the couple were shot and then their bodies were loaded into the trunk of their car before he dumped them. Their 2015 silver Toyota Yaris was then found abandoned five miles from their home eight hours after police were called.
During the press conference, Sanders said that one of the individuals that found the first body was riding a quad bike near the property when they made the discovery.
‘We have talked to the family. They were grateful for our efforts to recover Karen and Davido,’ Sanders said.
Thurston County Sheriff’s posted an updated news release to their Facebook page on Saturday after bodies were found
Though the couple’s cause of death has yet to be determined, Sanders said the discovery of shell casings and firearms has led them to believe that ‘that is going to be a part of the investigation.’
In terms of the location of where the bodies were found, the Sheriff said an investigation has to be done to determine how they got there, but it is ‘presumed that maybe there was some transportation involved with the bodies.’
‘We definitely have a crime scene that is quite a ways away from where we located the bodies,’ Sanders said.
The investigation is ongoing and anyone with any information is urged to contact the Thurston Police Department.