Man accused of murdering his brother-in-law is dead after standoff in Kennewick ravine
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Tri-Cities murder/suicide
Follow our coverage of a Kennewick pharmacist who allegedly killed his brother-in-law and then himself.
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Autopsy, new details released in death of pharmacist in a Kennewick ravine. What we know
Murder-suicide of a brother-in-law and a pharmacist rocks Tri-Cities. What we know
Man accused of murdering his brother-in-law is dead after standoff in Kennewick ravine
Police search for Tri-Cities pharmacist accused of killing brother-in-law in the street
A Tri-Cities pharmacist suspected of murder appears to have died in a south Kennewick ravine Tuesday afternoon after police surrounded him.
Kennewick police said he appeared to have died from a self-inflicted gunshot sometime during a two-hour standoff with police near 44th Avenue and Gum Street.
Kennewick police identified the suspect as Adam P. Klei, 44, who was being sought in the shooting death of his brother-in-law on South Jean Street on Monday.
People in the Elliot Lakes area reported seeing someone matching Klei’s description early Tuesday and detectives with a K9 unit and a drone were sent out to investigate the tips, Kennewick police Commander Aaron Clem told the Herald.
An officer reported seeing a man in the bushes southeast of 44th Avenue and Gum Street with a gun to his head about 12:50 p.m. , according to dispatch reports..
A group of officers went into the heavily overgrown ravine with a K-9 police dog to find him.
Police tried to get him to surrender, but he apparently fired several shots. It’s not clear if he was shooting toward the officers.
Police responded by firing pepperballs and another type of non-lethal weapon, according to dispatch reports. Clem said it was unclear what effect the non-lethal rounds had on him.
The Tri-City Regional SWAT team responded to the area, and after more than two hours of approaching him carefully, they discovered the man was dead, according to dispatch reports.
“When we got down there we found that it appears at this point that he has died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, obviously we will have to wait for an autopsy and other investigations,” Clem said.
He said a modified SIU investigation will take place. The Special Investigations Unit typically conducts an investigation and review of any incident in which an officer is involved that results in substantial injury or death.
He explained that since the less than lethal rounds were used before his death, Kennewick police wanted to bring the unit in as an outside agency.
Police had been searching for Klei since Monday morning when he allegedly shot and killed his brother-in-law on the 3000 block of South Jean Street.
Clem explained Klei had been the focus of a criminal investigation, and had been walking away from Travis Kitchen’s home Monday morning.
Kitchen, 48, allegedly confronted Klei on the side of the road, Clem said. During that confrontation, Klei allegedly shot his brother-in-law several times.
Kitchen, was found by the side of the road and he could not be revived. One of his daughters was with him at the time.
Kitchen is married to Klei’s sister, and they are going through a divorce, according to court documents.
Klei’s LinkedIn profile said he worked at Yoke’s pharmacy. But a spokeswoman for the grocery chain told the Herald he hadn’t worked there since 2015. State records show his license was in good standing through this month.
This story was originally published December 5, 2023 at 2:10 PM.