According to an interview by Seattle PI, Louis Chen, M.D. was described as “. . .just outstanding. A really good guy,” by his former supervisor, Dr. Mark Feinglos, Duke University Division Chief. So why would such an “outstanding” fellow admit to stabbing his partner of more than 10 years and their 2-year-old son more than 100 times, killing them both in cold blood, leaving their bodies to decay for several days in the penthouse condominium they shared in First Hill, a community in Seattle?
According to various local sources, Chen moved from the East Coast to Seattle after having finished a three-year residency at Duke University. There has been speculation that the motive behind the killings was Cooper’s recent decision to end the relationship and share custody of their child. This information has yet to be substantiated.
To be sure, the murders are gruesome and shocking to First Hill, an otherwise quiet area of Seattle. According to police records, Chen’s partner, Eric Cooper, 29, was stabbed more than 100 times in various parts of his body, including the face, back, neck, and hands. Their son, who was Chen’s biological son through surrogacy and who was later adopted by Cooper, suffered from multiple cut marks around the neck. The couple was discovered by Nurse Madonna Carlson when Chen never showed up for his first day at Virginia Mason Medical Center’s endocrinology department. When police and emergency crew arrived to assist, Chen allegedly confessed to police that he murdered both his partner and son.
According to police reports, the confession flowed as such:
Police: “Who did this to you?”
Chen: “What?”
Police: “Who stabbed you and your partner?”
Chen: “I did.”
Chen also suffered from non-life-threatening wounds to his body and was taken for an inpatient stay at Harborview Medical Center. He has since been released and has been booked. He has been charged with two counts of aggravated murder, which is punishable by either the death penalty or life in prison without the chance of parole. Interestingly enough, Chen has pleaded not guilty to all charges during his arraignment hearing.