Three dead in Plains double murder-suicide

Police found three people dead Saturday after a reported double murder-suicide just west of the Wild Horse Plains Golf Course in Plains.

According to Sanders County Sheriff Gene Arnold, Israel Keyes, 39, shot and killed his girlfriend Alexia Laslo, 37, and her son Michael Tasakos, 12, with a reported nine rounds from a Glock .40 caliber pistol.

Arnold said that at 2:29 a.m. James Keyes, Israel's father who lives around the corner, called police to report that he had heard gunfire coming from his son's home. James reported that his son had called him and said he had shot his girlfriend, her son and that he was going to shoot himself, too.

According to the police log, James was the first person on the scene and said that he found the bodies of Laslo and Tasakos surrounded by blood. Arnold, five Sanders County Deputies and one Plains Police Officer, Frank Seely, met him there finding all three bodies in the house.

Arnold said that James told police that the incident had started over a domestic dispute involving Laslo wanting to go to the funeral of her father-in-law in Washington.

“Israel told his dad in a phone call that he wasn't happy with his girlfriend going to the funeral,” Arnold said.

So far, Arnold says that drugs don't appear to be involved and weren't found on the scene; however, Arnold said that the Lake County Coroner - filling in because the Sanders County Coroner was unavailable - hasn't finished the toxicology tests.

“Hopefully, the coroner will let us know about the toxicology test results in about a week,” Arnold said.

Sanders County Deputy Martin Spring has been appointed to the head investigation in the coming weeks.

Arnold expressed his condolences for the friends and families of the victims and also for the community in general.

“When you find a kid involved like this it's a lot harder because it's emotionally stressful,” Arnold said, referring to Tafakos. “We do our job, but when you stop and look at it, it's just very, very, traumatic, and when you're in a smaller community it's just that much rougher.”

Both Keyes and Laslo worked for RTI Fabrication Inc. as fitters and welders. Tom Mowery, the shop foreman at RTI, said Keyes liked to keep to himself but didn't seem unusual in any way.

“When they were both working here [Keyes and Laslo] everything seemed fine, he was a pretty straightforward guy, kind of a loner, but he did good work,” Mowery said. “He was the type of guy that didn't want to be bothered but didn't bother anyone else either.”

Arnold said Keyes had no prior criminal record in Sanders County.

Authorities have notified the victims' families including Thomas Tafakos, Laslo's other son, and all three bodies have been turned over to the Sunset Funeral Home in Plains.