A 31-year-old U.S. Coast Guard employee has been charged with second-degree murder for the shooting death of his wife in an Uber in Queen Anne on July 2.
Cameron John Espitia is being held on $3 million bail after killing his wife, 29-year-old Jennifer Morrison Espitia during an argument after attending a wedding earlier that day.
According to court documents, the rideshare driver picked up the couple at a hotel in the 900 block of Westlake Avenue North, with Jennifer Espitia getting in the front seat and her husband sitting in the back.
The driver would later tell police the couple immediately began to argue, before he heard a loud boom, at first believing he either hit something or had blown a tire. When he looked to the passenger seat, he saw Jennifer Espitia slumped over, having been shot in the head.
The driver, concerned he too would be shot, followed Cameron Espitia’s request to be let out of the car moments later near Second Avenue West and West McGraw Street, before calling police.
Jennifer Espitia was rushed to Harborview Medical Center, where she later died.
Charging documents stated that the couple had argued over returning to their home in Hillman City versus going to an after-party of the wedding they had attended.
When officers found Cameron Espitia, he had a small pistol in his ankle holster, and dried blood on the shoulder of his suit. He told police he was having a bad night, but that he did not remember the night’s events, other than a slight recollection of being in a white SUV (similar to the Uber they had called). He also told officers he had been drinking that evening, but while detectives noted the smell of alcohol on his breath, he was able to coherently answer questions regarding the events leading up to the ride.
Espitia is expected to make an initial plea in court on July 13.