Top Stories: Mother of three killed in murder-suicide; rental scam; Round Table fined

What will the weather be like for the for the first week of the Clark County Fair? Check out our local weather forecast before you head outside.

Here are some of the top stories of the week on columbian.com. Wondering what else was popular this week with readers? Check out our Trending Stories page.

1. The Vancouver woman killed in a murder-suicide was a mother of three

Family and friends have identified the woman killed in an apparent murder-suicide Thursday in central Vancouver as a mother of three.

A GoFundMe identifies her as Carissa Larkin, 32, of Vancouver. The fundraiser, which had garnered nearly $8,000 as of Tuesday afternoon, aims to raise money for Larkin’s funeral service and the care of her three children.

• GoFundMe raising money for Carissa Larkin’s funeral and her children
• Previously: Two people are dead in a murder-suicide in central Vancouver, say police

2. Driver in critical condition after car rolls on Highway 14 in east Vancouver

A driver was seriously injured and burned in a two-vehicle crash Monday afternoon on state Highway 14 in east Vancouver.

According to the Vancouver Fire Department, witnesses called 911 about 5 p.m. to report the crash that caused a vehicle to flip and roll multiple times before landing on the shoulder, just west of the 164th Avenue Exit.

• Two-vehicle crash blocked lanes for four hours, caused serious backup

3. Flyers espousing hate speech left on cars in Hazel Dell

Flyers with racially charged hate messages were left on cars in the Hazel Dell area north of Vancouver on Sunday morning.

The Columbian received photos of the flyers from a resident of the neighborhood near Sarah J. Anderson Elementary School. The flyers with hate messages targeting Black, Hispanic and Jewish people were pinned on car windshields Sunday morning.

• A resident tried to remove the flyers targeting Black, Hispanic and Jewish people

4. Round Table Pizza in VanMall neighborhood pays almost $158,000 in restitution, fines after splitting tips with managers

The U.S. Department of Labor recovered around $129,000 in tips and damages from the owner of Round Table Pizza at 5016 N.E. Thurston Way in the VanMall neighborhood, the department announced Monday. The restaurant was also hit with a $28,548 penalty.

Investier LLC, which operates 14 Round Table Pizza locations around Portland and Vancouver, was found to be unlawfully keeping a portion of tips earned by employees by allowing managers to participate in the restaurant’s tip pool, the department said.

• U.S. Department of Labor finds managers were allowed to unlawfully participate in restaurant’s tip pool

5. A domestic violence survivor signed a lease for a Vancouver apartment she could afford; it was a scam, and she wasn’t alone

The 32-year-old single mother felt relieved. Although she had to leave her YWCA safe house for survivors of domestic violence, she found an affordable apartment in Vancouver where she could live with her two children.

“It’s perfect,” she thought. The new place was spacious, with two bedrooms, 1½ baths and a little patio where her kids could play.

“I’ll take it,” she said to the man on the phone giving her a tour. She signed a lease.

• Since COVID pandemic, scammers increasingly take advantage of housing crisis and rising rents to swindle Clark County residents often desperate for housing