Man’s death a suicide, woman’s death undetermined in Sunday shooting, coroner says
The cause and manner of death were released Tuesday for a man and woman found shot over the weekend in Hawks Prairie, according to the Thurston County Coroner’s Office.
They were identified Monday as Damien Martinez, 23, and Ashley Hernandez, 19. Both were active-duty soldiers at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.
Coroner Gary Warnock said Tuesday that Martinez died from a contact gunshot wound to the chest; Hernandez, a contact gunshot wound to the head. His death was ruled a suicide, while her death is going to be undetermined, Warnock said.
“It was a pretty chaotic scene,” he said about the location of the shooting.
Both Martinez and Hernandez were from out of the area. Martinez is from Texas, Warnock said. His office is still trying to pinpoint Hernandez’s residence, he said.
The Olympian reported over the weekend that deputies were dispatched to an apartment in the 9300 block of Skokomish Way about 5 a.m. Sunday after the man called to say his girlfriend had shot herself.
When deputies arrived, the man was found dead from a gunshot wound and the woman later died at an area hospital, according to the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office.
Lt. Ray Brady has said that Martinez and Hernandez were the only two people involved in the shooting.
This story was originally published March 31, 2020 at 12:02 PM.
