Washington State recently experienced a chilling series of events culminating in the death of a 39-year-old man identified as Elias Huizar.
Huizar committed suicide via gunshot after being linked to the murders of two females: his ex-wife and his underage girlfriend.
He was also responsible for the abduction of his young son. The events unfolded through a comprehensive search operation and a high-speed police pursuit.
The series of incidents began on April 22, with the fatal shooting of Amber Marie Rodriguez, 31, Huizar’s former wife, outside William Wiley Elementary School in West Richland, Washington, where she worked as a paraeducator. Rodriguez, a mother of two, was said by family members to have been killed in front of her nine-year-old son. A subsequent investigation led law enforcement to Huizar’s residence, where they found the dead body of 17-year-old Angelica Santos, identified as Huizar’s girlfriend, during a search warrant execution. Chief Thomas Grego of the West Richland Police Department verified the information to the press.
Chief Grego stated that the specific cause of Angelica Santos’s death is still under investigation. It remains uncertain whether she was living with Huizar at the time of her death, despite an active protective order against Huizar intended for her safety.
An urgent Amber Alert was issued for the child of the couple, one-year-old Roman Santos. The child was later found unharmed following a tense turn of events that involved Oregon State Police troopers locating Huizar’s vehicle near Eugene, Oregon. A high-speed chase ensued, concluding with an exchange of gunfire with the police, a vehicle crash, and Huizar’s subsequent suicide.
The tragic events have left officials attempting to unravel the motive behind the violent acts. Benton County prosecutor Eric Eisinger disclosed that Huizar was facing “pending criminal charges and some domestic matters” in court, relating to both victims. Huizar had also been charged with two counts of rape, one involving Santos and the other involving an alleged sexual assault of Santos’s 16-year-old friend. Despite these charges, Huizar was out on bail awaiting trial.
In the past, Huizar was connected with the Richland School District as a substitute teacher until his arrest, and he previously served with the Yakima Police Department. His background checks in both roles revealed no prior misconduct, although he left the police department following disciplinary action and was no longer employed by the City of Yakima since early 2022.
The case has highlighted Huizar’s troubling relationship with the young Santos, a relationship that reportedly began when she was only 11 years old while he was a resource officer in Yakima. His former wife, Rodriguez, had sought legal protection against him, citing a disturbing pattern of behavior that eventually resulted in Santos becoming pregnant at the age of 15.
As the community struggles to come to terms with this tragic series of events, law enforcement continues their investigation, committed to seeking justice for the victims and understanding the full extent of the motivations behind these horrific acts. Huizar’s death brings a grisly conclusion to a string of violence that has impacted multiple families and left a community in mourning.