Bath salts suspected in Spanaway family deaths

OLYMPIA, Wash. — A synthetic drug sold as bath salts was found in the home, car and in the pockets of a Spanaway man who killed his wife and himself after a high-speed chase on Interstate 5.

Thurston County Coroner Gary Wornock said Thursday he's having the bodies of David Stewart and Kristy Sampels tested to see if they had used the chemicals April 5 before their deaths and the death of their 5-year-old son who was found suffocated at the home.

On Wednesday, the Washington state Pharmacy Board took emergency action to ban bath salt drugs after the state poison center reported a growing number of calls about people who became ill after using them as a substitute for cocaine or methamphetamine.

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