Posted on 07/07/2017 10:44:34 AM PDT by Drew68
Murder charge filed after Seattle woman, 29, fatally shot riding home from a wedding
All Jennifer Morrison Espitia wanted was to Uber home safely.
Instead, King County prosecutors say, she was shot dead by her husband during a drunken, nonsensical argument.
Charged Thursday with second-degree murder, Cameron Espitia, 31, is alleged to have shot Jennifer in the back of the head on Sunday while both were riding in an Uber. Prosecutors say Espitia was drunk and irate after attending a wedding with Jennifer.
“Despite the fact that he was armed with a loaded firearm, he consumed numerous alcoholic drinks and argued with his wife when she wanted him to go home instead of proceeding to the after-party,” Senior Deputy Prosecutor Jessica Berliner said in court papers. “He wanted the Uber driver to drop him off ... His wife just wanted to get him safely home. …
“The defendant told his wife to ‘go (expletive)’ herself and then shot her at close range in the back of the head.”
Berliner noted that Espitia, an active U.S. Coast Guard member with ties to Crescent City, California, had several other weapons registered to himself. He is a concealed pistol permit holder with no known criminal history.
A St. Mary's College of California graduate, Jennifer Espitia had been working for a Seattle insurance firm in recent years, according to her LinkedIn profile.
The shooting occurred shortly after midnight in Seattle’s Queen Anne neighborhood.
According to charging papers, the Uber driver picked the couple up from a Courtyard Marriott hotel at 925 Westlake Ave. N. minutes before the shooting. Jennifer Espitia boarded the front passenger seat while her husband climbed into the back of the Toyota RAV4.
Speaking with detectives, the driver said the Espitias began arguing immediately. They were still arguing when a shot rang out and Jennifer Espitia slumped in her seat.
Cameron Espitia demanded to be let out of the car moments later. The driver, fearing he would be shot as well, complied. Police, called to the area by the driver, arrested Espitia several blocks away.
Jennifer Espitia was rushed to a Seattle hospital, where she was pronounced dead nearly two hours after being shot.
Writing the court, a Seattle Police Department detective said Cameron Espitia claimed he did not remember the events of the evening and asked repeatedly how Jennifer was doing.
The Ruger pistol Espitia was carrying matched the caliber of the shell casing recovered from the RAV4, the detective said, and there was dried blood on his person.
Espitia, a Columbia City-neighborhood resident, has been jailed since the shooting. He is scheduled to make an initial plea on July 13 at the King County Courthouse in Seattle.
"...he's a white guy..."
Cameron? That's about as far from "ethnic" as you can get.
Here's his Facebook page that gives his hometown as Crescent City, California.
Do have any evidence besides a non-WASPy last name that this guy is an immigrant?
Ethnic? Like Scalia?
I doubt the poor driver will ever drive for Uber again! I drive a cab. I don’t know that I could ever get behind the wheel again if a man had shot his wife right next to me.
It's enough of a problem that the question is legitimate.
"...Cameron..."
Lots of reasons to go a a wedding armed the same ones one goes armed other places.
I carried when I was married each of my children carried the same PPK. and hopefully my grandchildren well carry it when they get married.
It is not being armed that was the problem. It getting drunk beyond control.
Lots of reasons to go a a wedding armed the same ones one goes armed other places.
I carried when I was married each of my children carried the same PPK. and hopefully my grandchildren well carry it when they get married.
It is not being armed that was the problem. It getting drunk beyond control.
Good question. I was a desk-bound officer in the Air Force for five years. My total decorations when I left were the National Defense ribbon (for volunteering in time of war), a citation earned by the 4252nd Bombardment Wing (not by me as an individual), and an expert marksman's ribbon. I was kind of proud of the marksman's ribbon, because I actually did something to earn it.
Oh FFS, Cameron is Scottish.
From the Daily Mail"Court documents show Espitia was a member of the Coast Guard for 13 years and has no criminal record. He was born in California but lived in Seattle with his wife."
Sometimes Americans can be drunken fools as well.
"...Scottish..."
Here's her Facebook page, already converted over to a remembrance page.
Sad.
I don’t think there are any quartermasters in the CG anymore. I think his badge shows Maritime Law Enforcement Specialist.
Your comment is incredibly stupid if you are suggesting that this homicide would not have happened if the driver and victim were allowed to carry a gun in an Uber.
No, just that the rule was there...therefore it could not have happened.
BTW, he was only sentenced to 19 years.
Like many alcoholics, he was probably a great guy when sober.
Thanks for the update. I'd been checking in on this case every few months or so to see where it was. It was one of those that really stuck with me for whatever reason.
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