NORTH BEND, Wash. — A North Bend man was charged with second-degree murder for the killing of an infant five years ago.
The boy’s mother told police that she feared investigators had given up on her case, but police say they long believed the baby died at the hands of her then-boyfriend, and on Wednesday, they say they have enough evidence for the charges to stick.
In the summer of 2019, a video from an interview room showed 27-year-old Brendan Bodey being interviewed by Snoqualmie police detectives for the fourth time. They suspected he was behind the death of a 7-month-old infant, called “JC,” in court documents, a crime they tried to charge him with in 2023.
“When we made that arrest in March of ‘23, I thought he was going to stay in jail at that point, but unbeknownst to me, there were still a number of hurdles that had to be pushed forward to get the charges filed,” said Chief Brian Lynch of the Snoqualmie Police Department.
The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s office did not file charges – believing the case would not hold up in court.
“What we want to have is a case that not only we file but also that can hold up questions in court and now we have a case that we believe we can prove beyond a reasonable doubt,” said Casey McNerthy a spokesperson for the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
Now, five years after the death of baby JC, Bodey is back behind bars. He’s held on $100,000 bail. Bodey pleaded not guilty in an arraignment Thursday, and he is next scheduled to be in court on April 16.
“He was supposed to be 5 years old now and it will never bring him back – it’s never going to ease the sting and the pain but if it gives just a little bit of comfort knowing that the person that’s responsible is behind bars then we’ve done our job,” Lynch said.
Snoqualmie Chief Brian Lynch brought new life to the 5-year-old murder case. A case that started in March of 2019 – that’s when police were called to this North Bend Urgent Care – for CPR in progress on an infant.
The baby died at Children’s Hospital in Seattle – a doctor told investigators the baby showed injuries consistent with being “shaken.” The King County Medical Examiner ruled the death a homicide.
Bodey admitted to police he was watching the child and says the “baby appeared to be choking” – later telling investigators he “placed the baby on the ground and started CPR.”
In new charging documents – a medical expert who reviewed the case tells investigators the child died “when he sustained his abusive head injury." As Bodey awaits his day in court – Lynch says the boy’s mother feels there is some justice all these years later.
“She thought that, like I said, that we’d forgot about her and that we’d forgotten about her son and she’s been carrying the guild around of having put her son in that position – and she feels vindicated,” Lynch said.
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