Husband arrested for killing his pregnant wife and a JBLM soldier in Lacey double murder

LACEY, Washington — A 21-year-old man arrested Thursday night in connection with a domestic violence double homicide in Lacey was denied bail Friday. A Thurston County judge found there was reasonable suspicion against 21-year-old John Maupin.

According to court documents and the Thurston County District Attorney’s Office, John Maupin was arrested on second-degree murder and other possible charges. In court, KOMO News learned that one of the victims is his wife, and the Thurston County Coroner’s Office said she was seven months pregnant.

“The evidence suggests he shot both his wife and her friend,” Assistant District Attorney Cailen Cecil told the judge Friday afternoon. “The state requests that Mr. Maupin be held without bail due to the egregious facts of this case and his clear propensity for violence.”

Earlier that day and before Maupin’s court date, the Thurston County Coroner’s Office confirmed to KOMO News that a 24-year-old woman and a 26-year-old active-duty soldier were killed.

Colleen O’Toole also confirmed that the 24-year-old victim was her daughter Julia Maupin, who she said was seven months pregnant. The other victim was a soldier at Joint Base Lewis-McChord and the suspect is her son-in-law.

The 21-year-old suspect, who lived with both victims, was arrested following a chase on Interstate 5, police said.

According to a certificate of suspicion, police allege the suspect claimed an alter ego named “New John” who took control and he could not remember anything. The suspect told police he remembered being at home at some point that day, but could not remember anything that happened.

O’Toole said she was sleeping in the house when the shooting occurred Thursday night. She told KOMO News she heard gunshots and found her daughter and her roommate, who had been living with them for a few months, shot to death.

“She was my princess, my joy, my fireworks,” O’Toole said. “She loved animals, was my youngest of five children and was planning to go back to school. She was so excited to be a mother for the first time.”

The incident occurred around 9 p.m. in the 5400 block of 57th Loop SE in Lacey, according to Lacey police. Police said officers arrived at the scene and found the victims dead. According to court documents, both victims appeared to have head injuries consistent with gunshot wounds.

“He took my grandchild, my grandson, and killed him,” a sobbing O’Toole said Friday at her home in Lacey.

In the same court documents, police wrote that O’Toole told investigators that Maupin and the suspect had argued a few hours before the shooting, and Maupin claimed that the suspect took her phone and went into her room without her permission. The same documents do not provide a specific motive.

Witnesses said the suspect drove away in a vehicle. Olympia police officers observed him heading north on I-5, Lacey police said. A chase ensued and the suspect later abandoned his vehicle near the Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge near I-5 Exit 114, police said.

According to police, the Washington State Patrol air unit and the Thurston County SWAT team found the man in hiding. He was arrested and booked into the Thurston County Jail, where he was charged with second-degree domestic murder, first-degree assault and attempted escape, police said.

“He took my grandchild, my grandson, and killed her,” a sobbing O’Toole said. Describing Julia as the youngest of her five children, she said she was so excited to be a new mother that she went to the doctor every week, sometimes twice a week… She had a great personality and planned to go back to school to study veterinary medicine.

If Maupin is charged, a court hearing is scheduled for July 2.