The Seattle Times has identified the two men in Thursday morning’s First Hill apartment knife attack. The Times says the man who survived and is being treated in Harborview is Dr. Louis C. Chen. His partner, identified as Eric Cooper, and the couple’s 3-year-old child died in the bloody attack:
Chen’s Facebook profile picture
Dr. Louis C. Chen was found bloody and semiconscious in a 17th-floor penthouse apartment at 910 Eighth Ave. on Seattle’s First Hill on Thursday morning by a hospital representative who went there after Chen failed to appear for a two-day orientation in preparation for starting there on Monday.
Chen, 39, completed a three-year residency at Duke University in the spring and had come to Seattle with his partner, Eric A. Cooper, 29, and their toddler son, moving into the penthouse of the M Apartments in July.
I can’t begin to imagine the trauma & loss this man is going through. My heart is with you.
Trauma and loss? HE is the killer. The good doctor turned his rage to relentless killing, he confessed, and has no grounds for a lot of sympathy.
He will do well in prison, with his skills, serve 8-10 years, max. About to be working at one of the best diabetic centers in the USA at Virginia Mason, he is an excellent doc. They pick only the finest. And pay very, very well.
Yes sad that these things happen, but not sad for the killer of a child. Ugly brutal stuff.
Good attorney, will plea bargain.
Although you are probably right….let’s not forget that this man was barely conscious when he was wheeled out. Supposedly he confessed. You could argue that nobody would confess to something like that accidentally, but there’s the tiny chance that he might have been delirious, etc. and talked all kinds of shit. That supposed confession would need to be evaluated in court, not by us who weren’t there and don’t know what happened. All we know is what has been written, but that doesn’t necessarily make it all true.
Modern forensics will be important, and who found him and what he said to them will be very important.
I just don’t get all the hippy dippy sympathy. And the wait to identify the adults is too strange to imagine in a capital case with two deaths.
Seattle police are acting like they are on eggs of some sort. Vile murder of two people has taken place, one of the worst ever criminal scenes on C. Hill. A penthouse, I know the building, wonderful views, doctor with great career in his future, ten year sweetheart, adopted son – all the pieces for a totally positive gay family love story. Now all gone, really gone totally wrong. Two deaths by stabbing, blood and anger and rage.
There are no eggs here. Get on it cops.
I agree that with what we supposedly know so far, I wouldn’t necessarily be expressing sympathy for the survivor at this point.
As far as the delay by the cops– besides the spouse in the hospital, there are probably other next-of-kin (of the deceased) to be contacted. God forbid, if this was your brother/son/grandson, etc., wouldn’t you want to know before it hit the press? I know I would. I think the way the cops are handling it shows admirable restraint and consideration. I don’t think the rest of us are in any danger, we can wait for all the details.
Next of kin – email, FB …ah, the 24 hour phone most people still have. Days have passed, not good public policy. Wonder if Virginia Mason asked for a damper to get a few days past before letting us know the killer was a new doc there … they do have that clout in this city.
Or the cops were edgy ’cause the guys are queer, as if that matters in a Seattle double murder. Wonder if they were out to the folks in the East? They adopted, must have been.
The story is yet to be told.
Do we readers have any idea what actually happened?
Is it possible that both men were fighting in a spat-gone-too-far, and the child was killed, in an accident? If my partner killed my child, I’d probably kill him too.
Just sayin.
Stabbing a 2 year old is not going to get him 8-10, this is going to be an aggravated charge, and he’ll see life w/o parole. I’ve heard the victim moved out, so there may be premeditation if the family was lured back. This could easily be a death penalty case. Terrible terrible, the typical softies with sympathy for this monster? Misguided and disgusting.
There was a previous blog post that quoted the survivor as saying “I did it” then passing out in front of the cops. I guess we’ll find out soon enough if that was indeed the case.
As someone that knows the family of the adult victim, Eric Cooper, I ask that you stop…the nutcase Dr. Luis Chen basically confessed he lost it cause Eric was leaving him…he killed Eric and their adopted son like a psycho and then said he tried to kill himself afterwards… and, for those of you “bashing” them because they were gay…stop it! This did NOT happen because they were gay! If you ever watch the news, it happens in homes of “straight” couples, too! Please stop speculating when you have NO idea!
Yes, please. Being his brother, I’ve had to deal with more than most people should. I’d like to say more but out of respect for my family and the memory of Eric, I will refrain. Let the courts and God judge Chen, now.
As Eric’s older brother, you can’t imagine the loss I or my family feel. It didn’t matter whether he was gay or not. He was Eric. And now, he’s dead.
Regardless of the circumstances that lead to his death, NO ONE has a right to make presumptions. It is now in the hands of the court and God. Let those that knew Eric, remember him fondly, not belittle his memory with trivial bigotry and hate.
I may have never understood him fully, but he IS my little brother. I love him and will miss him, dearly.
Classic crime of passion, well know over the millenia.
Conviction by plea, manslaughter one. Time served, 8-10 years.
Time will tell. Horrible crime, premeditated murder will be hard to prove, his family has hired a team of attorneys – he will have some form of vigorous defense, incl. appeals for years ….
Bail will be millions….. historic high for this area.
I can only imagine your loss. I am sad for/with you and all his family.
Seattle is the most gay friendly city in America, the bigots are from suburbia. We all know gay has nothing to do with this situation, incidental to the facts of the crime.
So sorry.
Lars
i find it a little odd that people on these comments keep defensively bringing up the idea that this case is being exploited due to the killer’s homosexuality. no one said this had anything to do with the killer’s sexual preference. if they did, i missed it. it seems like you’re anticipating people will do so, almost like you wish they would. your witchhunt aint happening. dont politicize this- we aren’t.
Although it seems likely that Dr. Chen is the murderer, that is far from certain at this point. Therefore, all opinions here are just conjecture. I think we should let the professionals at the SPD and the Prosecutor’s Office do their work, and bloviate only when some of the facts become known.
But gee, that goes against the 1st rule of online blogging— always feel free to shoot off your mouth and speculate about things you know nothing about!
Does anyone know the apartment number this took place in? I know someone in that building and I’m just concerned.
Yes, tons of shit on other blogs – remember this THE queer Hill blog.
Worry not, the killer is in jail.
So, when you step outside and see the moon up in the clear night sky – then – do you step back inside and say -“someone more expert than me, is that really the moon?”
Hon, you ARE seeing the moon.
MARIE – if you know the family, then, as new information has emerged, the son was NOT adopted … Chen sperm and surrogate women as egg donor and implantee.
So, you are a poser?
Knew Luis Chen, having great difficulty with the idea of Luis and Child Murderer in the same sentence. I could envision him murdering someone who harmed his child but not that. Thinking if Luis could do this imagine what the rest of us are capable of!