Robert Eugene Chandler, 35, from the Toledo area, was charged Monday, March 10, in Lewis County Superior Court with two counts of first-degree aggravated murder.
The charge is defined as a “most serious offense” in Washington state and carries a maximum penalty of life in prison without parole or release.
“The allegations in this case are frightening and incredibly concerning,” Deputy Prosecutor Brandi Archer said during Chandler’s preliminary hearing in Lewis County Superior Court on Monday, March 10.
Against the advice of a judge and his defense attorney to not discuss the details of the case, Chandler asserted his innocence in court on Monday, saying, “By the time you find out who really did it, you’re really going to be kicking yourselves in the ass.”
While the prosecution asked Judge Paul Strophy to maintain the $2 million bail set over the weekend, and the defense asked for bail to be reduced to $1 million, Strophy opted to impose a no-bail hold, prohibiting Chandler from being released until his case is resolved.
Referring to the “extreme brutal nature in which the alleged murders occurred,” Strophy said, “I believe this is a case where (a no-bail hold) is appropriate.”
Arraignment is scheduled for Thursday, March 20.
Chandler is accused of violently killing Kimberly R. Torres, 51, and Donald J. Piccolo, 61, at their residence in the 400 block of Byham Road in Winlock with a pair of swords on Feb. 4.
Winlock Police Chief Stephen Valentine reportedly discovered Torres and Piccolo while performing a citizen-requested welfare check on the two sometime after 10 p.m. on Feb. 25, according to court documents and previous Chronicle reporting.
“After several failed attempts to make contact, the decision was made to force entry into the residence — the doors and windows were all locked,” the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office states in an affidavit of probable cause filed in Lewis County Superior Court on March 10.
Upon entry, Valentine found Piccolo seated on the couch in front of the door and found Torres seated on the floor and leaning against another couch.
Both bodies were severely decomposed and had evidence of “severe trauma,” according to court documents.
“(Piccolo) had severed limbs, and (Torres) had her head severed from her body,” the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office states in charging documents.
A knife sharpening honing rod was also found protruding out of Piccolo’s severed shoulder.
An autopsy of Piccolo revealed “numerous chop force injuries,” with the lethal wound being a strike to the left side of his head, according to court documents.
The lethal wound to Torres was determined to be “two horizontal cuts at the base of her neck,” according to court documents.
Both Torres and Piccolo had “defensive wounds” on their hands and forearms, according to court documents.
The Lewis County Coroner’s Office positively identified Torres on March 7 and Piccolo on March 9 and confirmed that homicide was the manner of death for both decedents.
Two swords with blood on them were found at the scene, as well as significant blood splatter “on the ceiling and throughout the residence,” according to court documents.
Detectives with the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office began an investigation when the bodies were found shortly after midnight on Feb. 26, according to previous Chronicle reporting.
During the investigation, detectives confirmed that Torres was last seen on Jan. 31, and the most recent receipt in Torres’ purse was dated Feb. 3.
Piccolo was last seen on Feb. 4 when a relative took him to and from a medical appointment, detectives confirmed.
At least two people reportedly tried to contact Torres and Piccolo after Piccolo’s medical appointment on Feb. 4, but received no response.
One person advised they went to the residence “and heard a male’s voice say in a high pitch (voice) ‘housekeeping’ when she knocked on the door, but the door was never answered.”
That individual told detectives the voice “sounded like Robert Chandler because she had known him for a long time, but she was not entirely sure,” according to court documents.
She “advised that Chandler had been dropped off at the residence around that time, but she did not know who had dropped him off.”
At the time, witnesses reported that “Chandler would go to the victims’ residence approximately three times a week to shower.”
One person confirmed that he did give Chandler a ride to the victim’s residence on Feb. 4, telling detectives that “he observed Chandler near his property and saw that he was acting ‘weird,’ so he gave him a ride to get him away from his property,” according to court documents.
He reported that Chandler had said he wanted to take a shower at the victims’ residence.
“During the investigation, other people began to mention Chandler as being a suspect in the crime,” the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office states in charging documents.
Body cam footage from a police encounter with Chandler earlier in the day on Feb. 4 reportedly shows that Chandler was wearing “similar clothing” to a male suspect caught on surveillance footage going to the victims’ residence on Feb. 4.
During a subsequent search of the victims’ residence, investigators also reportedly found clothing underneath where Torres was found belonging to Chandler, as well as a Quest card with Chandler’s signature on it and a Department of Corrections card that an officer confirmed giving to Chandler a few days prior, according to court documents.
Witnesses reported that Chandler was seen “acting strangely” between Feb. 7 and Feb. 27, with one witness reporting Chandler was “talking to people who were not there, yelling and throwing items,” and “whipping his shirt and backpack onto a rock,” along the Cowlitz River on Feb. 7 and another witness reporting Chandler “acting violently” and spending “multiple hours yelling at trees” on Feb. 27.
“Several people noted that Chandler would huff gas canisters and would become violent after doing so,” according to court documents.
Chandler was “coincidentally” arrested on March 5 for a Department of Corrections violation and was booked into the Lewis County Jail for that offense, according to jail records and court documents.
When interviewed in the jail about the murders, Chandler allegedly “admitted to being dropped off at the victims’ residence but denied being involved in the murder,” according to court documents.
In a phone call to his mother from the jail after he was interviewed about the murders, Chandler allegedly “asked her to wash the clothes in his backpack and to charge his phone because he was going to be getting out soon,” according to court documents.
Law enforcement obtained a warrant for Chandler’s mother’s residence and obtained the clothing inside the backpack, which reportedly had apparent blood stains on it.
Chandler’s felony history includes a 2021 conviction for attempted residential burglary, domestic violence; convictions for third-degree assault from 2021 and 2009; a 2020 conviction for escape from community custody; and a 2009 conviction for second-degree malicious mischief.
Misdemeanor convictions on his record include a 2024 domestic violence protection order violation, a 2024 trespassing conviction, a 2020 harassment convictions, and multiple convictions for disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and fourth-degree assault between 2008 and 2021.
