A family of four was found dead inside their home in a quiet, well-to-do suburban neighborhood, not far from where another family was slain in an alleged thrill killing in January.
Although police did not identify the victims, neighbors said the address was home to Sam Lau, a fireworks importer and member of a Hong Kong family that has been in the fireworks business for three generations.He lived there with his wife and two sons, a pre-engineering major at the University of Washington and a junior at Newport High School.
The bodies of an Asian man, woman and two young men were found by a real estate agent and family friend shortly before suppertime Monday in this suburb east of Seattle.
The victims were in an upstairs storage room in the back of the two-story white house made of wood and brick. No cause of death was given and there was no obvious sign of a break-in or struggle, police said.
"It's obviously by homicidal violence, but we are not sure how all of them died," Lt. William Ferguson said. "There are some signs of violence."
It was the second killing of a family of four in Bellevue in the past six months and it stunned residents in the quiet, leafy neighborhood of $400,000 homes on curving streets and cul de sacs.
"It's really startling to think that somebody can walk into a home and kill four people and nobody hears anything," said Jeff Phillips, who lives nearby.
The Lau sons were "really studious, both of them were Honor Society," said Tim Crawford, 20, who knew Samuel and younger brother Terrance Lau.