FALL CITY, Wash. — New defense attorneys representing the teen charged in the Fall City mass murder case deny tampering with evidence at the home and demand a public apology for their client. In a Tuesday filing, the defense accuses state prosecutors of prosecutorial misconduct that threatens their client’s ability to have a fair trial.
According to court documents filed in the Superior Court of Washington for King County Juvenile Division, the 15-year-old boy is facing five counts of aggravated murder in the first degree and one count of attempted murder in the first degree in connection to the killings of five of his family members on Oct. 21.
In this case𑁋his only surviving sister is the key testimony𑁋said she watched him do it. But he claimed his younger brother committed the murders and then killed himself.
Two weeks ago, prosecutors filed documents saying the former defense team moved objects, removed objects, and accused them of trying to tamper with the scene.
State prosecutors demanded every piece of data taken from the home by the defense team, saying they might have tampered with the scene. The former defense team wanted access back into the house where the crime occurred and were granted permission by a judge earlier this month, after successfully arguing there was some merit to the initial 911 call.
During that call, the teen claimed his brother had killed everyone before committing suicide. The King County Sheriff’s Office wasn’t allowed to go in with the defense team, so there was no observation, but deputies did document what changed in the home after the defense team left.
After comparing documentation from the King County Sheriff’s Office before and after the defense’s search, state prosecutors said, “It is clear that defense counsel and their agents exceeded the permitted scope of their search under the court’s order.”
Prosecutors say the defense team may have moved shoes and backpacks, compromised the bedrooms, and changed the places of certain items.
As of Wednesday, the defense team came back and said not only were they not doing that but the prosecution was intentionally misleading the court.
The new defense team rebutted and said that prosecutors committed prosecutorial misconduct by making defamatory and untrue allegations regarding the former defense’s conduct when it had “clear and unequivocal evidence” refuting said allegations.
As a result, the new defense team has asked for a public apology to the teen and the former defense team.
The hearing that will determine whether the boy will be tried as an adult is set for June 2025.
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