John Jefferson
An aerial view of the home where most members of the Humiston family were massacred (YouTube/KCPQ).
A 15-year-old boy shot and killed his parents and most of his siblings, and then tried to frame one of the victims as the perpetrator of a “murder-suicide,” law enforcement officials in Washington state say.
The alleged killer’s tale, however, unraveled because his 11-year-old sister played dead, later escaped, and told investigators the truth about the massacre, according to the King County Sheriff’s Office.
The defendant has since been charged with five counts of aggravated domestic violence murder in the first degree and one count of first-degree attempted murder with a firearm enhancement in juvenile court. A hearing is in the offing for his case to be moved to adult court, the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office told Law&Crime.
The King County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the victims as Mark Humiston, 43, Sarah Humiston, 42, and their children Katheryn Humiston, 7, Joshua Humiston, 9, and Benjamin Humiston, 13.
The incident occurred during the early morning hours on Monday at a residence on Lake Alice Road in Fall City, a suburb of Seattle, according to an affidavit of probable cause obtained by Tacoma-based Fox affiliate KCPQ and Spokane-based CBS affiliate KREM.
At around 4:55 a.m., the defendant himself made the 911 call and reported his 13-year-old brother had shot and killed their “whole family and committed suicide, too,” because “he had been caught looking at pornography the night before, and that he was about to get in a lot of trouble,” according to the charging document.
A few minutes later, a neighbor also called 911.
The next version of the story was vastly different.
The neighbor told dispatchers the girl came to their home after she pretended to be dead — and that her 15-year-old brother was the shooter, sheriff’s office deputy Aaron Thompson wrote.
The girl said she and her sister woke up to the sound of gunshots and screaming, according to the charging document. Then, her little sister left the bottom bunk of their shared bunk bed to go see what was going on — and found their father dead in the hallway. Then, the older girl saw the younger girl fall to the ground as a shot rang out. The 11-year-old said she saw her 15-year-old brother’s face before she was shot once or twice. After that, the survivor said she “played dead” until her brother walked away. She also said she saw the killer checking their family’s necks to make sure they were all dead.
In an interview with investigators, the girl said her brother had recently gotten into trouble for failing tests at school, according to the affidavit. The murder weapon was a handgun that belonged to her father, the girl added, saying that only her oldest brother — among the siblings — knew the code to the lockbox where the firearm was stored.
Law enforcement believe the alleged killer tried to stage the grisly scene of the crime to further incriminate his 13-year-old brother.
Investigators found a Glock in the 13-year-old’s left hand, which was resting on his chest, according to the affidavit.
“[The 15-year-old suspect] systematically murdered his mother, father, two brothers, and sister, and attempted to murder his other sister,” investigators wrote. “[He] then staged the scene prior to the arrival of first responders to make it appear that [Benjamin] had committed the murders and then killed himself. [He] then further perpetuated the false staging by repeatedly telling the 911 dispatcher that [Benjamin] was responsible for killing all their family and then committing suicide.”
Inside, deputies found the bodies. Four of the victims had been shot in the head. All of them suffered gunshot wounds. The surviving sister was treated at a Seattle hospital and has since been released.
During an initial court appearance on Thursday, defense attorneys convinced a judge not to releases the defendant’s name — due to both his age and the limited information they had received from the state. Prosecutors convinced the judge to issue a finding of probable cause to sustain the charges and keep the defendant detained.
The defendant is said to have no prior criminal history. He is currently being detained in a youth detention facility in Seattle, prosecutors said.
The King County Sheriff’s Office deferred all questions to the prosecution.
The defendant is due in court on Friday afternoon.
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