The four children orphaned by a murder-suicide in Hazel Dell this week are staying with a local family for now, a family friend said today.
The children, ages 19, 17, 15 and 11, were left without parents Tuesday when Robert Diaz Gutierrez shot and killed his wife, Elizabeth Orozco, and his mother-in-law, Adela Ruiz-Gonzales, at the family’s home off Northeast 99th Street. The Clark County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the case.
Family friend Leesa Tucker said all four of the children are staying with another family in the Vancouver area for now. The eldest is a student at Washington State University in Pullman, and the second-eldest is due to start at the University of Washington in the fall, she said.
The friends have established several sites to accept donations to help defray the children’s immediate expenses. More information is at Gofundme.com “Helping the Gutierrez Family” or Gogetfunding.com/Gutierrez-family-funeral-and-burial. In addition a Gutierrez family account has been established at Columbia Credit Union, Tucker said.
