Couple Found Dead in Chevy Chase D.C. Home

A man and woman were found dead under mysterious circumstances last night in a house in the quiet Chevy Chase area of upper Northwest Washington, according to D.C. police.

Police found the two about 9 p.m. inside a single-family house in the 5300 block of Belt Road in a part of the District where killings are almost unknown. No names were available immediately.

Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D), who went to the scene, described the deaths as suspicious, but D.C. Police Inspector Rodney Parks, head of the homicide unit, said the investigation was being conducted as if the two had been slain.

"We are proceeding with this as if it is a homicide," Parks said.

Police said there was no sign of forced entry into the house, on a curving block that runs between Military Road and Jenifer Street.

Police sources said the woman was found on a couch and the man nearby on the floor. The woman had been bound, the sources said. It appeared that both had suffered severe wounds, according to the sources.

No cause of death was described by police officials. No motive or suspect was identified, but Parks said he did not think others in the area needed to fear for their safety.

Officials released a description of an automobile they said was linked to the dead man and woman. It was missing, they said.

The car was described as a blue two-door Toyota Scion with D.C. license tags.

The daughter of a couple who lives on the block said she had called police yesterday to inquire about her parents' welfare. She said she had not heard from them since Thursday.

Some residents of the block said they had been invited to a "soup party" at the couple's house, which was to be held Friday.

When they rang the bell, they said, there was no answer.