Jong Ja Taylor, a 61-year-old Asian woman, had made the difficult decision to leave her husband. She planned to return to her native Korea the very next day. On the morning of Saturday, February 28, 2004, she went to her home in the Fruit Valley neighborhood of west Vancouver, Washington, to gather her belongings. She was not alone; her friend, 54-year-old Joy Meei Shang Sun, had accompanied her for support.
It was a decision that would tragically cost both women their lives.
At approximately 9:30 a.m., a violent confrontation erupted. Jong Ja's husband, 69-year-old Jack B. Taylor, a retired dockworker, met them at the residence. In what police would later describe as an act of domestic violence, he opened fire, shooting both his wife and her friend. The quiet Saturday morning was shattered by the sound of gunshots, leading to a swift police response.
When officers arrived at the home, the tragic scene unfolded. Joy Meei Shang Sun was found deceased inside the residence. Jong Ja Taylor was critically wounded and rushed to Southwest Washington Medical Center, but she succumbed to her injuries and was pronounced dead. As law enforcement converged on the house, Jack B. Taylor took his own life. Because the perpetrator died at the scene, no arrests were made in connection with the double murder-suicide.
