Sammamish Parents Killed In Dispute With Son Over House: KCSO

SAMMAMISH, WA - Police believe a 34-year-old son man shot and killed his parents last week and lived in their Klahanie home with the bodies for about five days. Matthew Ficken committed suicide, police believe, when King County deputies went to the home on Tuesday for a welfare check.

Matthew Ficken may have killed his parents because his mother, Lorraine Ficken, was planning to retire and move to Oregon.

"The investigation to date tends to show Matthew killed his parents because he didn’t want his mom to move out of state and sell the family house out from under him," King County Sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Ryan Abbott said in a press release.

Lorraine Ficken, 68, was a local real estate broker at Coldwell Banker Bain in Issaquah. Her husband, Robert E. Ficken, 72, was a historian and author who has chronicled Washington history. Lorraine Ficken's employer said she was looking forward to retiring next year.

Police discovered the bodies when deputies went to the Ficken home along the 23900 block of Southeast 42nd Place around 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Police believe the parents were shot on Friday or Saturday.

“We’re still in shock and our hearts and thoughts go out to Lorraine’s family and real estate team during this horrible time," Coldwell Banker Bain managing broker Marilyn Green said in a statement. "Lorraine was one of the nicest people we’ve ever known – so kind and warm-hearted. She was one of our top producers, and served her clients without fault. We have been hearing from so many clients who are in tears over this tragedy. It is a huge loss for so many and Lorraine will be greatly missed.”

Ficken had worked as a broker since 1992. According to her Realtor.com profile, she recently sold many homes in Issaquah and Sammamish, but worked on sales as far south as Pierce County and as far north as Everett.

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