Cops: Seattle Man Killed Wife During Uber Ride

The driver thought he would be next
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 4, 2017 2:21 AM CDT
Updated Jul 4, 2017 4:21 AM CDT
Cops: Man Fatally Shot Wife During Uber Ride
Cameron Espitia, who is accused of fatally shooting his wife Jennifer Espitia, makes an appearance in a King County courtroom in Seattle, Monday, July 3, 2017.   (Bill Bushmaker/Q13 News via AP)

A Coast Guardsman murdered his wife during an Uber ride early Sunday and told the terrified driver to keep going, police in Seattle say. Police say Jennifer Espitia was in the front passenger seat when she was shot in the head by husband Cameron Espitia during an argument, KOMO News reports. The driver thought the noise was a blown tire before he saw the woman slumped over, police say. The driver told police that he feared he would be shot next and obeyed Espitia's instructions to keep driving. After Espitia asked to be let out, the driver called 911. Police say that when they found the 31-year-old Coast Guardsman, he told them he "was not having a good night with his wife." They found a small pistol in an ankle holster.

Espitia told police he had been drinking, woke up in bushes, and barely remembered being in the vehicle, according to court documents seen by the AP. He was charged with second-degree murder and bail was set at $3 million during a court appearance Monday. At the hearing, prosecutor David Glindmeyer told the judge he had received an email from the King County Medical Examiner's Office describing the killing as an "execution," the Seattle Times reports. Coast Guardsman Elliot Felix asked the judge to consider a lesser bail amount, saying he didn't believe Espitia, a Petty Officer First Class, was capable of such a crime. (More Uber stories.)

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