SEATTLE — A judge found no misconduct by the defense for a teen accused of killing five of his family members at a Fall City home earlier this fall, despite allegations of evidence tampering by the state.
In response, the defense accused the state of making the accusations while having evidence that they were untrue, damaging the reputation of the suspect's defense team - and essentially, the suspect's case. Defense counsel also alleged that the King County Sheriff's Office went outside the scope of their documentation of the home, alleging they altered or modified certain parts of the residence. Counsel asked to find intentional misconduct on the part of the state, which the judge also declined to do.
"As the Bard would say, it was much ado about nothing," said Judge Veronica Galvin.
The teen at the center of the case is accused of killing his parents and three siblings at their family home in Fall City in October.
The accusations
The defense requested access to the Fall City home to do their own forensic investigation of the scene of the crime, which a judge granted near the end of October. This was after the home had been released back to the family of the victims.
A member of the boy's defense team accompanied a forensic investigator to the residence on Oct. 29. King County Sheriff's personnel were also at the scene, but were instructed to be outside of earshot and eyesight of the boy's defense team, so they could discuss their case, observe and strategize in private. KCSO digitally documented the residence before the defense team was given access to the home.
The judge granted the defense team limited access to the scene, under these guidelines:
- The defense team shall not search the residence, including any filing cabinets, containers drawers, digital devices or like items. The defense team was only to inspect items in plain view.
- With respect to the master bedroom, the defense team would be allowed access to anything in plain view.
- The defense was granted the ability to look through binders and at hand-written letters in the boys' room, and anything in plain view.
- The defense was not allowed to conduct a search, but was allowed to conduct a forensic examination of the girls' room.
The state then came out with allegations that the defense had tampered with evidence at the scene, alleging they had moved items that they were not allowed to touch, and conducted an investigation outside the scope of the judge's order. They cited evidence that papers had been accessed inside a clear case in the boys' room, sheets had been moved on the girls' beds, and potential evidentiary items, like a bottle of Clorox wipes, had been moved.
The defense in turn alleged that the King County Sheriff's Office had actually been the ones to alter or modify some things at the scene, and they had been within their granted access to inspect the girls' sheets for blood and to investigate a handwritten letter that was seen inside a clear case in the boys' room. The defense also argued that the state had carelessly made these accusations, baselessly damaging the reputation of an experienced defense attorney without having done the proper investigation.
The ruling
In the end, the judge ruled that none of the allegations from either party had merit, hinging on the fact that the crime scene had been turned over to the family before the search by the defense team was conducted. The judge had acknowledged at a previous hearing that because the scene was no longer preserved, it was unlikely that any forensics gathered during the defense's investigation would have merit.
Essentially, there was no evidence tampering by the defense or KCSO, because at that point, multiple people other than law enforcement had been inside the home. There was no way to verify what had already been touched or moved by family members or others who had visited.
"A myriad of people had gone through there, a myriad of people have touched who knows what," Judge Galvan said.
The judge further ruled that neither the defense nor KCSO went outside the scope of their allowed investigations of the Fall City home.
The prosecution had requested access to the defense's photos, or other items that they planned to use as evidence in their case. The judge said the prosecution would get access to those things if and when the defense decided whether or not they would use those items as evidence, and not before.
There was some suggestion by the prosecution that it could be years before the defense makes those decisions. The judge pushed back on that saying it should be the goal of both the defense and prosecution to bring this case to trial as quickly as possible.
"There's no reason that we have to wait five years to go to trial," Galvan said.
Background on the Fall City homicides case
A teen was taken into custody after five people were killed at a home in Fall City on Oct. 21, according to KCSO.
At around 4:55 a.m., multiple people called 911 reporting a shooting in the Lake Alice neighborhood. Deputies found two adults and three juveniles dead in the home. A spokesperson said a "high school-aged" teen could face first- or second-degree murder charges, the spokesperson said.
Another teen, believed to be the suspect's sister, received medical aid from a neighbor and was taken to Harborview Medical Center for treatment. She has since been released from the hospital.
The suspect in the killings is the son of two of the victims. KING 5 is not naming the suspect as he is a juvenile and has not been charged as an adult. He also has no prior criminal history and remains in custody.
According to the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office, anytime a 15-year-old is charged with aggravated first-degree murder it is initially filed in juvenile court, however, prosecutors can ask a judge to move the case to adult court - as they are doing in this case.
A hearing to decide whether the teen will be tried as an adult has been scheduled for June of 2025.