Couple suspected in Hercules woman's murder

HERCULES, Calif. -- Police confirmed Friday a married couple is suspected in the killing last week of a Hercules woman after the pair were arrested in Washington state Wednesday with the woman's stolen car following an alleged month-long crime spree.

Hercules investigators identified Southern California residents Darnell Washington, 25, and Tania Washington, 25, as suspects in the Oct. 5 killing of 55-year-old Susie Ko after reviewing evidence from Ko's stolen car and interviewing the pair over the past two days in Kings County, Wash., Detective Connie Van Putten said.

The couple is being held in King County for alleged assault crimes committed there and in Southern California.

Los Angeles County sheriff's officials say that on Aug. 28, Darnell Washington escaped from San Bernardino County Jail with the help of his wife.

Authorities said the two then embarked on a month-long crime spree that included Darnell Washington's alleged shooting of a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy who attempted to stop the escapee in South El Monte, Calif. on Sept. 2.

The pair allegedly carjacked two more vehicles before their involvement in the slaying of Ko, a schoolteacher and mother of four who was found stabbed to death in her home on Ash Court in Hercules on Oct. 5.

Ko's sky blue Subaru Outback was missing from the home's driveway the night of her murder, resurfacing again on Wednesday in the Seattle suburb of SeaTac with Tania and Darnell Washington inside, authorities said.

The couple was arrested at gunpoint after attempting to evade police and ramming into police patrol cars.

They are being held without bail in Kings County.

The Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office is expected to file charges against Darnell and Tania Washington late next week, Van Putten said.

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hercules, murder, crime, southern california, east bay news

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