Detective Mark Povolny, lead investigator in the Forest Grove homicide case, addresses reporters at a press conference in Hillsboro, Ore., on Aug. 25, 2026. Investigators shared new details Tuesday that the quintuple homicide in rural Washington County initially began as a domestic violence incident.
Saskia Hatvany / OPB
Investigators believe the quintuple homicide outside Forest Grove over the weekend started as a case of domestic violence that spawned into multiple killings, they said at a press conference Tuesday.
Phone records from Mary Kimsey, 85, showed she texted a friend about a fight between her grandchild, Stella Jade Kimsey, 26, and Benjamin Parker, Stella’s boyfriend. The conversation occurred just hours before the 36-year-old Parker is alleged to have killed Stella Kimsey, Mary Kimsey, Stella’s mother Rowan Kimsey, and Stella’s friends Linsey Haraldsen and Alvin Chu.
“Mary said Stella and Mr. Parker got into a horrible fight sometime during either Thursday evening or overnight into the early hours of Friday morning, and Stella told him he had to leave,” lead detective Mark Povolny said.
(Left to right, top row) Undated and provided photos of Stella Kimsey and her mother Rowan Kimsey, (bottom row) Stella's grandmother Mary Kimsey, and Stella’s best friend Linsey Haraldsen, four of the victims in a quintuple homicide near Forest Grove that occurred on Aug. 22, 2026. Not pictured is a fifth victim, Alvin Chu.
Provided by the Washington County Sheriff's Office
The details come just days after the victims were discovered on the rural Washington County property. A neighbor reportedly saw the flames from their home early Saturday morning, called 911 and ran to help fight the fire. While responding to the fire around 5 a.m., Forest Grove Fire & Rescue discovered human remains and alerted law enforcement.
Parker reportedly confessed to the killings in a phone call to his mother around 9 p.m. Saturday, investigators said.
“His mother shared that during the phone call he made to her on Saturday night, her son confessed to this crime. He said he had been planning this for a while and that it was premeditated,” Povolny said.
Authorities later pinged his phone to Enumclaw, Washington, where local officers found him in a pickup truck registered to Rowan Kimsey, dead by a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Investigators say they were told Parker had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and that they discovered “mental health related prescription bottles” with his name on them. They said it’s currently unclear if Parker was taking them.
Rowan Kimsey was a Portland-based tattoo artist. According to social media, Haraldsen was enrolled in a Portland beauty school.
A family member, who requested to remain anonymous due to the high-profile nature of the case, remembered Stella to OPB as “super sweet and sensitive” and Rowan as artistic and peaceful. They were also remembered as animal lovers.
“It makes the violence of their death somehow so much worse because they lived a quiet, peaceful existence out there and presumably welcomed this person [Parker] into their lives with love,” the family member told OPB.
The Washington County Sheriff’s Office first announced the discovery of the five bodies Sunday afternoon. Two cats and two dogs were also found dead at the scene, while a third cat was injured and later euthanized.
This is a breaking news story.
