Man charged in death wife, daughter

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SPANAWAY, Wash., Aug. 30 (UPI) -- A Spanaway, Wash., man allegedly shot his wife to death while she was sleeping then killed their 11-year-old daughter, Pierce County sheriff's deputies said.

Sheriff's deputies said the man was booked into the Pierce County Jail on two counts of first-degree murder, The (Tacoma, Wash.) News Tribune reported.

Deputies said they found the bodies of mother and daughter Wednesday in the master bedroom of the family's home.

The man turned himself into authorities, The News Tribune said.

Sheriff's Capt. Ed Smith said the man told detectives he killed his wife and daughter because of marital and financial troubles.

After the man killed his wife, he awakened his daughter and another girl who was spending the night, Smith said.

"The suspect took both of the children in his car, dropped off the friend at her residence in Auburn then drove around for some time with his daughter in the car," the sheriff's office said in a news release. "The suspect told detectives that he pulled over on the side of the road in Spanaway and shot his daughter as she sat inside the vehicle."

Deputies said the man then ate at a fast-food restaurant before returning home, where he placed his daughter's body next to her mother's.