With bail set at $5 million, prosecutors are beginning to turn a rural double-homicide investigation into a formal murder case.
SHELTON, Wash. — Prosecutors in Mason County have charged Robert T. Child, 60, with two counts of first-degree murder and first-degree burglary after investigators said he fatally shot his estranged wife and another man at a Hoodsport home before fleeing and being arrested the next day.
The case is now moving from field investigation to courtroom procedure. That shift matters because the public story is no longer only about what deputies found at a house in Hoodsport. It is also about what prosecutors can prove, what additional counts may be sustained, and how a judge will handle a defendant accused of a double killing tied to domestic violence and an unserved protection order.
The initial charging record, as described by KING and Law&Crime, says deputies responded around 7 p.m. March 24 to reports of a disturbance and possible shooting. Inside the home on North Hamma Hamma Drive East, they found Jason Hilde dead near the front door and Anna Child dead on a stairway. Both were 46. A shotgun and spent shells were found inside, according to local reports summarizing court documents. Witnesses told deputies Robert Child had been seen leaving the residence. One witness said he threatened that he would not go back to jail and would kill anyone who pursued him. Another, a teenager who was in the home, said Child entered with a shotgun, yelled while looking for someone and that shots followed. Those statements form the backbone of the probable-cause case, though they remain accusations until tested in court.
At the first court stage, the most concrete outcome was bail. KING reported that prosecutors sought $2.5 million, but a judge set bail at $5 million. That choice suggests the court viewed the allegations, the number of victims and the flight from the scene as especially serious. The public reporting also points to an evolving charge list. Early stories highlighted two counts of first-degree murder and first-degree burglary. KOMO later reported that Child had also been charged with unlawful possession of a firearm because court records indicate he is a convicted felon. Whether prosecutors refine, add or merge counts as the case advances will be worth watching, particularly if forensic evidence or warrant returns add detail about the weapon, entry into the home or the suspect’s movements before the shooting.
The court file also sits beside another legal paper: the protection order Anna Child sought on March 9. In her request, she wrote, “I don’t feel safe,” and said Robert Child had told her, “If he can’t have me, no one will.” A judge granted that order on March 23 and barred him from coming within 250 feet of her, according to local reporting. Sheriff Ryan Spurling later said the order had not been served before the killings. In practical terms, that means two different legal systems were operating at once in the days before the shooting. Family-court protection had been granted, while the criminal case that now dominates public attention did not begin until after the deaths. The gap between those systems is likely to remain one of the most scrutinized facts in the case.
As prosecutors prepare for later hearings, investigators are still building the evidentiary record. Search warrants were approved for the home and vehicles, and KOMO reported detectives were seeking possible dashboard-camera footage from vehicles parked at the scene. The sheriff’s office also moved quickly to locate Child after the shooting, first broadcasting information about a white pickup and then announcing his arrest on March 25. That matters to the court process because prosecutors often use post-crime conduct to argue dangerousness and flight risk. At the same time, there are still unanswered questions. Public reporting has not laid out any complete defense account, and no plea position was widely reported in the earliest coverage. Investigators also have not publicly detailed whether any other weapon was recovered from the victims or inside the home beyond the shotgun attributed to the suspect.
Outside the formal record, the case has continued to carry the emotional force of a small-community killing. Neighbors described hearing blasts and seeing the aftermath. One neighbor, Caleb McGill, told KING he confronted Child and heard him say the victims had pointed a gun at him. Authorities have not publicly confirmed that claim. Family and friends of Hilde described him in local coverage as a loyal friend and loving father. Those voices do not decide the criminal case, but they explain why each hearing is likely to draw attention far beyond the courthouse in Shelton.
The legal path ahead is now clearer than the factual one. Robert Child is jailed, bail has been set, and prosecutors have opened a murder case that will turn on witness accounts, forensic evidence and the timeline around an order meant to keep Anna Child safe. The next milestone is the court’s next substantive hearing and any updated charging decision.
Author note: Last updated April 19, 2026.