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A 21-year-old Lacey man accused of fatally shooting his pregnant wife and their roommate in Lacey on Thursday is being held without bail on a 72-hour review hold while the prosecutor’s office considers charges.
John Robert Maupin had his preliminary hearing in Thurston County Superior Court on possible charges of second-degree murder and attempting to elude on Friday, June 21, where a judge granted the prosecution’s request to hold the defendant without bail, citing community safety concerns.
The Thurston County Prosecutor’s Office has until 5 p.m. on Tuesday, June 25, to make a charging decision, according to a spokesperson for the prosecutor’s office.
A declaration of probable cause filed in Thurston County Superior Court on Friday includes a narrative of the events leading up to Maupin’s arrest from the point of view of law enforcement.
Officers with the Lacey Police Department were dispatched to 5400 block of 57th Loop Southeast at approximately 9:05 p.m. on June 20 after a woman called 911 to report her pregnant daughter, identified by the Thurston County Prosecutor’s Office as Julia Maupin, 24, and a man, Brandon Rudlaff, 26, had been shot by Julia Maupin’s husband, according to charging documents. Rudlaff, an active duty soldier at Joint Base Lewis McChord (JBLM), was reportedly Julia Maupin’s “best friend/boyfriend” and shared a room with Julia Maupin in the 57th Loop Southeast address, according to charging documents. John Maupin had his own room in the house, as did Julia Maupin’s mother and her partner.
While Julia Maupin’s mother was on the phone with 911, her partner ran to a neighbor’s house and also called 911.
“It was reported that after the shooting, John Maupin left the house with the gun and fled the area in his white, 2020 Hyundai Sonata with a Washington license. It was reported John was in the United States Army and was stationed at Joint Base Lewis McChord,” the prosecutor’s office states in charging documents.
JBLM was notified of the situation and confirmed John Maupin’s military status, according to charging documents.
When officers got to the scene, they contacted the two reporting parties and were directed upstairs, where they found Rudalff’s body on the floor in the upstairs hallway and found Julia’s body on the floor in the upstair’s master bedroom, according to charging documents.
“Brandon and Julia both had trauma to their heads that appeared consistent with gunshot wounds and both had no detectable pulse. The Lacey Fire Department responded to the scene and confirmed Julia and Brandon were deceased,” according to charging documents.
Julia Maupin was approximately seven or eight months pregnant at the time of her death, according to charging documents.
According to testimony from Julia Maupin’s mother, John and Julia Maupin got into an argument about John Maupin going into Julia Maupin’s bedroom and taking her phone. Several hours later, Julia Maupin’s mother, who was laying on her bed upstairs, reportedly heard two gunshots from her bedroom and heard someone say, “Oh, a gun went off,” according to charging documents. She then saw a shadow move past her door and heard “three or more” gunshots from the hallway.
She told officers she began yelling “leave my family alone” and “get out” and saw a man wearing a black shirt John Maupin had on earlier that day.
The mother’s partner was reportedly downstairs watching TV at the time of the shooting. He told officers he got up and started walking toward the stairs when he heard two gunshots from upstairs, and then heard more gunshots from upstairs. He said he “then saw John Maupin coming down the stairs with a gun in his hand,” according to court documents. John Maupin allegedly pointed the gun to his own head, told the mother’s partner to get away from him, and left the house with the gun.
Meanwhile, Julia Maupin’s mother reported she waited a minute or so for John Maupin to leave, then went into Julia’s room and found her “down on the floor with blood coming out of her mouth,” according to court documents. She reportedly confirmed Julia Maupin had no pulse, tried to open her phone to call 911 and, when she couldn’t open the phone, went back to her room to get her own phone. She then went down the hall and found Rudlaff’s body, telling police that she “knew due to the injuries to his head, he was dead.”
Julia Maupin’s mother then called 911 and instructed her partner to go to the neighbor's house and also call 911.
“It should be noted that (Julia Maupin’s mother and her partner) appeared to be in poor health and had significant mobility issues,” the prosecutor’s office notes in the affidavit of probable cause. The partner reported he is partially deaf “but commented on how loud the gunshots sounded from outstairs.”
After an attempt-to-locate for John Maupin’s vehicle was broadcast to local law enforcement, an officer with the Olympia Police Department located John Maupin’s vehicle driving northbound on Interstate 5 at approximately 9:15 p.m. on June 20, according to court documents.
The vehicle reportedly failed to yield for a traffic stop, instead continuing northbound at speeds of over 110 mph. The vehicle took exit 114 and entered the Billy Frank Jr. Niqually Wildlife Refuge before John Maupin allegedly exited the vehicle and fled on foot.
After the Washington State Patrol Air unit and Thurston County SWAT were called in to help locate the suspect, John Maupin was taken into custody at approximately 1 a.m. on June 21, according to court documents.
When interviewed by detectives at the Lacey Police Department, John Maupin allegedly “stated that he has an alter ego named ‘New John’ who took over and he couldn’t remember anything,” according to court documents. He allegedly “recalled being home at some point that day but didn’t remember anything that happened.”
He reportedly told detectives he knew there was a gun in the glovebox of his car, “but that he didn’t own a gun.”
The execution of a search warrant on John Maupin’s vehicle yielded a black Taurus Armas handgun loaded with a magazine of five 9mm rounds and a round in the chamber, according to court documents. Thurston County Jail records indicate he was booked on suspicion of second-degree murder involving domestic violence, first-degree assault involving domestic violence, and attempted eluding.
The incident is still under investigation.
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