SEASIDE Marcus G. Foster, 50, of Seaside, will be arraigned today in Clatsop County Circuit Court for the murder of his ex-wife and a man.

The bodies of Laura J. Foster, 53, of Seaside, and her longtime friend, Guy Phillips, 53, were found in Fosters home at 1372 10th Ave. by Seaside volunteer firefighters Friday afternoon.

Marcus Foster, who was arrested Friday evening, is charged with two counts of aggravated murder.

Autopsies conducted Sunday on Laura Foster and Phillips indicate that both victims died as a result of repeated blunt-force trauma to the head. Investigators believe the murder weapon was an aluminum baseball bat recovered during Saturdays search of the residence.

The murders apparently occurred Thursday evening.

The bodies were discovered Friday afternoon inside the house after Seaside volunteer firefighters responded to a report of an unresponsive person. When they arrived at the house, they discovered the bodies of a man and woman who had been dead for some time, said Clatsop County District Attorney Josh Marquis.

Marquis and Seaside Police Chief Bob Gross conducted a news conference Saturday morning.

Marquis called the murders a brutal homicide.

In many ways, this was a domestic homicide, he said.

Although Marcus and Laura Foster had been divorced, they were living together when the murders occurred, Marquis said. Police believe Phillips moved to Seaside from the Portland area Tuesday.

The incident began at 9:20 a.m. Friday when Marcus Fosters employer asked the Seaside police to conduct a welfare check at the 10th Avenue residence when Foster failed to show up for work. The officer found the door locked but saw no signs of forced entry or suspicious circumstances. The employer said he would try to check with Fosters wife.

At 2:59 p.m., the Seaside Volunteer Fire Department received a report of an unresponsive person at the same address.

Following the discovery of the bodies, police began a search for a purple Toyota Scion, owned by Marcus Foster, and a gold Toyota Camry, which had been connected with Phillips.

On Friday evening, a Clatsop County Sheriffs deputy spotted and stopped the purple Scion traveling west on U.S. Highway 30 entering Knappa. Foster, who was driving, was taken into custody without incident and booked at the Clatsop County Jail.

If he is convicted of aggravated murder, he could face three possible sentences: a life sentence with the possibility of parole after 30 years, life without the possibility of parole, or a death sentence.

It is too early to determine if it is a capital case, that warrants the death penalty, Marquis said.

Although the Seaside Police Department is the lead agency in the investigation, the department is being assisted by the Clatsop County Major Crimes Team, composed of representatives from four local law enforcement agencies and the county medical examiner. The team spent Friday evening and Saturday gathering evidence at the residence.

The gold Toyota Camry owned by Phillips was located Saturday, and investigators have determined it is not directly related to events leading up to the homicide.

Manuela Tucker, who had known Laura Foster since she was 5 years old and had attended Seaside High School with her, said Saturday that Foster loved animals, especially birds and dogs. Until recently, Foster had worked at a local real estate agency in Seaside.

She was proud of her children and grandchildren, Tucker said.

She never bothered nobody, Tucker added.

She also described Marcus Foster as a really nice guy who worked at a local company.

He enjoyed being a grandfather to his grandkids, Tucker said.