Washington Man Evaluated for Psychotic Disorder After Allegedly Killing Two Friends in 'Frightening' Sword Attack

A Washington man has been charged with first-degree aggravated murder in the brutal sword killings of two people. Robert Eugene Chandler, 35, was charged in Lewis County Superior Court, with the offense classified as a “most serious offense.”

Winlock Police Chief Stephen Valentine said he made the grisly discovery during a welfare check at a residence in February 2025, where he found Kimberly R. Torres, 51, and Donald J. Piccolo, 61, both suffering from extensive chop-force injuries.

According to authorities, Piccolo was seated on a couch near the door, while Torres was found on the floor leaning against another couch. Both bodies were severely decomposed and showed signs of “severe trauma,” as reported by The Chronicle.

Charging documents from the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office described the violence in stark terms: Piccolo had severed limbs, and Torres had been decapitated. A knife-sharpening honing rod was also found protruding from Piccolo’s shoulder.

An autopsy determined that Piccolo suffered numerous chop-force wounds, with the fatal injury being a blow to the left side of his head. Torres’ cause of death was identified as two horizontal cuts at the base of her neck.

Investigators recovered two bloodstained swords at the scene, along with blood spatter across the ceiling and throughout the home.

Authorities also found clothing believed to belong to Chandler beneath Torres’ body, along with a Quest card bearing his signature and a Department of Corrections ID that an officer said had been issued to him days earlier.

Witnesses told investigators that Chandler had a history of inhaling gas fumes and could become violent afterward.

Chandler was arrested on March 5 for a Department of Corrections violation and booked into the Lewis County Jail. When questioned about the killings, he admitted being dropped off at the victims’ home but denied any involvement.

Witnesses reported that Chandler was seen “acting strangely” between February 7 and February 27. One witness said he 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 February 7. Another described him as “acting violently” and spending “multiple hours yelling at trees” on February 27.

A psychologist who evaluated Chandler diagnosed him with unspecified schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders, methamphetamine use disorder, and inhalant use disorder, in accordance with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-5-TR).

In a recorded jail phone call to his mother, Chandler allegedly asked her to wash the clothes in his backpack and charge his phone, saying he expected to be released soon. Police later obtained a warrant to search his mother’s home and recovered clothing from the backpack that reportedly had visible bloodstains.

“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.

Chandler has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to stand trial in November.