Double slaying discovered in Belltown apartment 2 found dead in Seattle public housing building

A woman walks past Bell Tower where police are investigating after the discovery of two homicide victims in an apartment early this morning, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2016. A woman walks past Bell Tower where police are investigating after the discovery of two homicide victims in an apartment early this morning, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2016. Photo: GRANT HINDSLEY, SEATTLEPI.COM Photo: GRANT HINDSLEY, SEATTLEPI.COM Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close Double slaying discovered in Belltown apartment 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

Two people found dead in a Seattle public housing building appear to have been slain.

Detectives are investigating the deaths as a double homicide, a Seattle police spokesman said Tuesday morning. Details on the apparent slaying weren’t immediately available.

The King County Medical Examiner's office will determine and release the cause and manner of death in the case. Citing an anonymous law enforcement source, The Seattle Times reported that both victims were beaten to death.

Police were called at 12:30 p.m. Monday to the Bell Tower apartment complex, a Seattle Housing Authority-run building in the Belltown neighborhood. Summoned for a welfare check, officers found two people dead on the floor of a unit.

The secure building, located in the 2200 block of First Avenue, hosts 118 studio and 1-bedroom apartments. It is home to low-income residents, many of whom are disabled.

According to police, officers were called to the building to check on a tenant. They found the apartment locked.

A property manager opened the apartment to police. Inside, they found the dead people.

Seattle police ask anyone with information on the case to call the homicide and assault tip line at 206-233-5000.

Seattlepi.com reporter Levi Pulkkinen can be reached at 206-448-8348 or levipulkkinen@seattlepi.com. Follow Levi on Twitter at twitter.com/levipulk.