A murder suspect who investigators say is also connected to a deadly high speed crash is expected to appear in court, after his plea entry was pushed back by a day. The case has drawn close attention in the Kent area of Washington state because it ties a fatal apartment complex shooting to a separate crash that left two more people dead. The court appearance marks the next step in a case that has grown well beyond a single shooting.
At the center of the case is Robert Ousley, who is accused of opening fire on Marcus Pressley at a Kent apartment complex in May. According to investigators, Pressley was shot nine times during the attack. The sheer number of gunshots has underscored how violent the encounter was, and it helped frame the way authorities have approached the investigation from the outset.
Officials say they believe the shooting was some sort of revenge killing, and that it was possibly gang related. That working theory has shaped the direction of the inquiry, with investigators treating the attack as a targeted act rather than a random one. The suggestion of a retaliatory motive has added another layer to a case that authorities continue to piece together.
The case took an even more devastating turn less than two weeks after the shooting. Investigators say Ousley was involved in a high speed chase, with the vehicle reaching speeds of around 130 miles per hour. The pursuit unfolded as authorities tried to stop the suspect, and it ended in a crash that proved fatal for people who had nothing to do with the original confrontation.
According to investigators, two people were killed in that high speed crash. One of them was described as a witness to the Kent murder, while the other was a four year old child. The deaths added a tragic dimension to a case that had already begun with a deadly shooting, and they significantly widened the scope of what investigators are now examining.
With his plea entry having been delayed by a day, Ousley is now expected back before the court as the legal process moves forward. The proceedings will bring together the strands of a case that links a fatal apartment complex shooting, a suspected revenge motive and a high speed chase that killed a witness and a young child. Authorities are continuing their investigation as the matter heads through the justice system.