A 15-year-old boy accused of killing his parents and three siblings in their Washington state home shot his parents, then called police and falsely claimed his older brother had committed the killings, according to court documents. went.
The 15-year-old, who NBC News is not naming because of his age, was charged Thursday with five counts of murder and one count of attempted murder in the Monday morning slaying in Fall City.
Two adults and three children were found dead shortly before 5 a.m. Monday after a shooting was reported at a home in the Lake Alice Road area of Fall City, about 40 miles east of Seattle. The coroner’s office identified them as Mark Humiston, 43, Sarah Humiston, 42, and their children Catherine, 7, Joshua, 9, and Benjamin, 13. identified.
The 11-year-old sisters, who survived being shot by pretending to be dead, escaped through a window and went to a neighbor’s house, a King County sheriff’s detective wrote in an affidavit.
A spokeswoman for Seattle’s Harborview Medical Center said Thursday that she had been hospitalized but has been released.
The 15-year-old boy was arrested the day of the shooting and was being held in a juvenile detention center Thursday.
The attempted murder charge includes a firearms enhancement, which could result in a heavier sentence if the boy is convicted, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Around 4:55 a.m. Monday, a 15-year-old boy called the King County Sheriff’s Office and claimed that his 13-year-old brother had “shot and killed our entire family and killed himself,” sheriff’s detectives said. Probably writing. Cause statement.
Investigators say the allegations are false and that the boy staged the scene to place the blame on one of the victims, Detective Aaron Thompson wrote in a written statement.
The surviving 11-year-old brother told police that his 15-year-old brother shot her and her family with a Glock pistol that belonged to their father, according to a probable cause report.
She told investigators that the boy left the room after shooting her and that she heard someone yelling “stop” and “help” before running away, detectives wrote.
The surviving brother told investigators that the gun was kept in a locked box and that the suspect was the only one of the children who knew the combination, according to the probable cause report.
“The law presumes that our client is innocent of these charges,” Amy Parker and Molly Campella, who represent the 15-year-old boy, said in his first court appearance Tuesday. . They described him as a “15-year-old boy with no criminal record who enjoys mountain biking and fishing.”
“We would like to remind everyone that these are merely allegations, not proven facts, and the law assumes that our client is innocent of these charges,” they said. .
During his court appearance Tuesday, the boy waived his right to appear in court and was ordered to have no contact with his surviving siblings.
No comment was immediately available from the family.
During Friday’s court hearing, prosecutors requested a hearing to determine whether the case will remain in juvenile court or whether the suspects will be treated as adults.
Public defenders said they had filed a motion to protect the boy’s privacy, with Judge Christine Richardson ruling that the juvenile suspect’s name cannot be released and photographs cannot be taken from the neck up. There was also a judgment that the complaint was approved.
Part of the indictment was filed specifying an act of domestic violence, the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office announced Thursday.
But on Friday, prosecutors announced a domestic violence designation for three counts of aggravated first-degree murder involving the suspect’s brother and attempted first-degree murder because state law prohibits them from proceeding with those charges. Four charges have been amended to remove the domestic violence designation in the charges, officials said.
Neighbors told NBC affiliate KING of Seattle that the couple homeschooled their children, who were well-known and active in the community.
Mark Humiston was shot four times and his mother suffered two gunshot wounds, according to a probable cause statement. Three children were also shot.
Sheriff’s Detective Thompson said in a probable cause report that evidence showed the suspect “systematically murdered his mother, father, two brothers, and sister, and attempted to murder another sister.” Ta.
The suspect “then staged the scene prior to the arrival of first responders” to make it appear as if the 13-year-old victim had committed murder and died by suicide, detectives wrote.
King County Councilwoman Sarah Perry called the shooting a “terrible situation.”
“My heart breaks for the lives lost and for all those who are now struggling to make sense of this loss,” she said on Facebook this week.
The boy’s father worked as an electrician at Hargis Engineers, the company said.
“We are stunned and saddened by the tragic events that led to the loss of a respected colleague, mentor, friend and immediate family member,” the company said in a statement. “Mark’s leadership and vision have been essential to our company and we will miss him deeply. Our thoughts are with his family, friends and colleagues during this difficult time.”
