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Shop NowA teen killer is in custody, charged with the massacre of five family members. The surviving relative was “transported to a Seattle-area hospital.” Her condition is currently listed as “satisfactory.” The story is still developing but some of the details are beginning to trickle out.
Teen in custody
A teen in Fall City, Washington, apparently murdered most of his family on Monday, October 21. The unidentified 15-year-old was arrested as the bodies of two adults and three children were removed from the home.
As related by Deputy Mike Mellis with the King County Sheriff’s Office, their family members have been notified.
Multiple 911 calls came in reporting a “disturbance with gunfire.” One call reportedly came from inside the home. The fatally injured minors were described as “young teenagers.”
The survivor was a female child. It’s not clear if she is also a teen. Her injuries weren’t listed but she’s reported to be in “satisfactory” condition at Harborview Medical Center on Tuesday.
Spokesperson Brandyn Hull relates separately that the suspect appears to be a member of the same family as the victims but “their exact relationships are part of the investigation.” Clearly involving a disturbed teen with access to firearms, they’re treating it as a domestic incident.
“It does appear to be that this is a family incident, clearly a domestic violence incident involves not only a young man who’s now in significant trouble, it involves firearms. Young men and firearms,” Deputy Mellis adds.
Surrendered to police
All of the deaths were obviously “perpetrated by firearm” but when authorities arrived “there was no significant confrontation” with the suspect as he was subdued and taken into custody.
He “waived his presence at his first hearing in juvenile court on Tuesday” and did it on the advice of his public defender. The teen has not been formally charged yet.
Casey McNerthney with the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office issued a statement noting they are waiting to get the paperwork from the Sheriff’s office.
Attorneys Amy Parker and Molly Campera are representing the teen and they’re getting in some damage control early, even before they have all the facts. Their client is a “15-year-old boy who enjoys mountain biking and fishing and has no criminal history.”
He’s entitled to his day in court. “The law says our client is presumed innocent of these charges, and we are grateful for a judicial process that requires proof and evidence before there is a judgment” the defense points out.
Seattle, Washington, is one of those liberal Democrat jurisdictions where law enforcement is nearly non-existent. Neighbor Lynne Trowern is in “in total shock” to learn one of the teen boys next door could murder nearly the whole family. “I keep bursting into tears.“
