SEATTLE — A woman and a man have been arrested in connection with the death of the woman's 4-year-old son in Seattle on Sunday evening.
Seattle police officers responded to the 100 block of West Olympic Place in the Queen Anne neighborhood after 10:30 p.m. on Sunday night for an unresponsive child, according to the SPD blotter. Seattle Fire medics attempted life-saving measures, but the boy was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police arrested the boy's 23-year-old mother and her 20-year-old boyfriend "based on evidence of traumatic injury to the victim." The 20-year-old was booked into King County Jail on murder charges. An update from SPD Monday afternoon indicated that the boy's mother was admitted to the hospital and has not been booked into jail yet.
David Martin with the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office says domestic violence cases have been on the rise over the last couple of years due to increased stresses caused by the pandemic, and also in part due to better collection of data.
Last week, the King County Prosecutor's Office released its November numbers of criminal cases. Domestic violence is the most common type of crime, with 22.7% of charges in November being domestic violence-related. Of those cases, about 20% involved children.
Martin says there are several programs throughout the county to prevent domestic violence.
If you or someone you know may be experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233, text START to 88788 or visit thehotline.org for additional guidance and resources.
Visit the Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence website for additional local resources.