Alexandria police said that the deaths of 31-year-old Belinda Ross and 33-year-old Kelly Ross in the city last Thursday morning were the result of a murder/suicide. Family members called police on Wednesday evening last week and asked if they would check on the couple. Police went to the Hillwood at Mark Center and entered the locked apartment at around 12:30 a.m. on Oct. 21.
Police found two victims inside the apartment. The Virginia Office of Medical Examiner performed an autopsy on both victims and found that Belinda Ross died of strangulation and that Kelly Ross died of asphyxiation from hanging. The couple had been estranged. Police believe that the motive was domestic related.
This is the city’s first domestic violence death since July of 2002 when a man stabbed his wife. It is the second homicide of the year.