Ex-Cop Kills Himself After Murdering Ex-Wife, Teen Girlfriend and Kidnapping Baby: Police

News By TooFab Staff |
West Richland Police Department

Elias Huizar was charged with raping his 17-year-old girlfriend and her 16-year-old friend earlier this year, around the same time his ex-wife obtained a protection order against him.

A Washington man suspected of killing two women -- one of whom was his 17-year-old girlfriend -- before kidnapping his 1-year-old son is dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after a manhunt and high speed chase.

The search for 39-year-old Elias Huizar (above left) began on Monday, after his ex-wife Amber Marie Rodriguez was shot and killed outside William Wiley Elementary School in West Richland, Washington.

While executing a search warrant inside Huizar's home that same day, they found a second homicide victim -- who police confirmed Wednesday was Angelica Santos, Huizar's 17-year-old girlfriend.

Chief Thomas Grego of the West Richland Police Department in Washington confirmed Wednesday the cause of death for Angelica Santos was still undetermined. Authorities were also unsure whether Santos was living with Huizar at the time, as there was an order protecting her from him issued earlier this year.

An Amber Alert was then issued for 1-year-old Roman Santos (above right), the child of both Huizar and the teenager. Oregon State Police troopers then located his vehicle near Eugene on Tuesday and attempted a stop. Huizar allegedly fled the scene, resulting in a high-speed pursuit during which he fired at authorities. He eventually crashed his vehicle into a median and then took his own life with a gunshot wound to the head.

The child was removed from the vehicle.

During today's presser, Benton County prosecutor Eric Eisinger said they were still working on a timeline of which of the victims was killed first. He also shared that they didn't have a specific motive behind the murders just yet, but said authorities were aware Huizar had "some pending criminal charges and some domestic matters that were pending in court."

As for those pending charges and domestic matters, they involve both victims.

Earlier this year, Huizar was hit with two different rape charges -- one, for third-degree, over his relationship with Santos, authorities confirmed during Wednesday's presser. The other charge, for second-degree rape, came after Santos reported Huizar sexually assaulted a 16-year-old friend who had passed out at their house. He was out on bail for both charges pending his trial; both victims had orders of protection against Huizar.

The suspect worked for the Richland School District as a substitute teacher, but was terminated after his arrest. Before his termination, he had last worked for the district on June 14, 2023. "No past investigations or allegations appeared in Mr. Huizar's background checks before he was hired and nothing was disclosed by Mr. Huizar," they said in a statement.

He was also a former police officer for the Yakima Police Department, which confirmed in a Facebook post on Tuesday that he "left the department after receiving discipline in late 2021." The City of Yakima, meanwhile, said he hadn't been employed by them since February 2022.

Huizar's ex-wife reportedly applied for an order of protection after his arrest, claiming he met Santos when she was just 11 and he was a resource officer at a Yakima middle school. Rodriguez claimed he got the teen pregnant when she was 15. The order was issued in February, though she had filed for a modification in their parenting plan just last Friday.

Under the order, Huizar was banned from owning a firearm.