Fall City murders teen suspect not to be arraigned Friday as prosecutors request move to adult court

The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office (KCPAO) announced Friday that it will amend the domestic violence designations for several charges in the case of a 15-year-old boy accused of killing five family members and attempting to kill a sixth.

Early Monday morning, a teen suspect was taken into custody, accused of killing five members of his family and attempting to kill a sixth.

On Thursday the King County Medical Examiner’s Office identified those victims as 43-year-old Mark Humiston, 42-year-old Sarah Humiston, 13-year-old Benjamin Humiston, 9-year-old Joshua Humiston, and 7-year-old Katheryn Humiston.

Charges were filed late Thursday, detailing the alleged crimes.

The teen faces five counts of first-degree aggravated murder and one count of attempted first-degree murder.

Initially, all charges included a domestic violence designation based on Washington state’s definition of “family or household members.”

Upon further review, however, prosecutors determined that under Washington law, the domestic violence designation only applies to adult family or household members and does not cover relationships between child siblings.

As a result, prosecutors are removing the domestic violence designation from three aggravated murder charges involving the teen’s siblings and the attempted murder charge involving an 11-year-old sister who survived.

The amended charges will still proceed without the designation.

The KCPAO also noted that removal of the domestic violence designations will not affect the sentencing range if the teen is convicted.

Prosecutors are also requesting that the case be moved to adult court, a process known as declining juvenile jurisdiction.

If transferred to adult court and convicted, the teen would face a sentence of 25 years to life, with the potential for release after 25 years, subject to review by the state’s Indeterminate Sentence Review Board.

If the case remains in juvenile court, the maximum sentence would be confinement until age 25.

An arraignment will not take place until the decision of adult or juvenile court is decided—a decision that could take months.

At the hearing scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Friday, prosecutors will formally ask the judge to consider transferring the case to adult court.

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