A 41-year-old man was arrested in connection with kidnapping his daughter after strangling his girlfriend in a Kennewick apartment.
Matthew G. Susmilch turned himself about 4 p.m. Tuesday, ending a three-day search for the kidnapping and assault suspect, who slipped away from Tri-Cities Regional SWAT team Saturday.
Judge Jackie Shea-Brown signed off on a $200,000 arrest warrant for Susmilch on Tuesday, according to court records. Prosecutors have charged him with first-degree kidnapping, second-degree assault and making death threats.
Kennewick police detectives had help from the U.S. Marshals Service, state Department of Corrections and area police agencies in helping to search for police.
“Kennewick detectives have taken custody of Susmilch and he will be booked Benton County jail on the warrant for the investigation along with a Department of Corrections,” Kennewick police said in a Facebook post. “We appreciate the time, effort and resources area agencies and federal partners dedicated to assisting in the investigation.”
Kennewick police were called to a Conway Place apartment building around 10:45 a.m. Saturday after Susmilch’s girlfriend reported that he had choked her, court documents said. Susmilch also allegedly told his girlfriend that he would kill her and sent her a photo of a black handgun.
By the time police arrived, Susmilch’s girlfriend was outside, and he was with their 4-year-old daughter Grace.
Tri-City Regional SWAT team members surrounded the home and spoke to Susmilch by text messages using his girlfriend’s phone, court documents said.
At first, he agreed to send his daughter out of the apartment. Then he said they weren’t inside.
“Matthew became uncooperative over text with SWAT, until he went silent and stopped responding altogether,” court documents said.
When police went into the apartment around 3:30 p.m. both Susmilch and his daughter were gone.
It remains unclear if they escaped from the apartment before or after police arrived.
Susmilch’s daughter was found safe about 2 a.m. Sunday in Pasco and was reunited with family.
