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Leonard Foster And Lisa Malone: Man Shoots Lover, Himself — Cops Waited Outside

By Jonathan Vankin
Published on: 07:27 PST, Feb 16, 2017

Sheriff’s deputies in Washington County, Oregon, waited outside the home of Leonard Foster and Lisa Malone for up to 90 minutes late Wednesday night, then departed — only to have family members find the couple dead inside their Bull Mountain home a few hours later, according to a report by the Oregonian.

Police say that the couple appeared to have carried out a suicide pact, with Foster, 48, first shooting and killing Malone, also 48, then killing himself. At least at their current address, the couple had never been the subject of a domestic violence report.

However, the pair had been under investigation by local police for allegedly carrying out an embezzlement scheme at the local company that employed both Foster and Malone, Fahey Machinery.

According to a Washington County Sheriff’s report, cited by KATU-TV, the deputies responded to a 911 call reporting a possible gunshot inside the three-story home at about 10:30 p.m. on Wednesday, February 15. The call reportedly came from family members of the couple, who had lived in the home for more than one year. The family members had visited the couple after failing to hear from them since late in 2016.

“The family members went to the location and entered the three-story home. From the ground floor, they spoke with Ms. Malone and Mr. Foster, who were upstairs,” investigating Detective Robert Rookhuyzen told KGW TV. “The family members then heard what they believed to be a single gunshot, but thought it could have been from a TV. After the gunshot, Ms. Malone and Mr. Foster both told the family members they were fine and did not wish to speak with them.”

The deputies waited outside the home for between 60 and 90 minutes, according to the detective, then left the scene. The reason for their departure, according to the sheriff’s department, was simply that they did not believe they had legal grounds to enter the home, according to a statement posted by KPTV reporter Kandra Kent on her Twitter feed.

A truck stolen from the Fahey Machinery company possibly by Foster and Malone was discovered Thursday morning in a nearby Safeway supermarket parking lot, according to Kent’s reporting. Malone was a bookkeeper at the firm, while Foster was employed as a service manager.

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A police report containing allegations of the embezzlement scheme was filed on Tuesday by Fahey Machinery owner Thomas Hatfield. According to the report, more than $34,500 of company funds had gone missing, mostly as a result of fraudulent checks, as well as a cash bank withdrawal.

When Malone refused to print out company financial records at Hatfield’s request — and then the couple left work claiming a family emergency — they became suspects in the embezzlement operation.

[Featured Image by Piotr Zajda/Shutterstock]

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