Docs: Fall City teen gunned down family, staged ‘murder-suicide’
Fall City 15-year-old charged with five family murders
A 15-year-old has been charged with five counts of aggravated murder in connection to the shooting deaths of his parents and siblings.
FALL CITY, Wash. - The 15-year-old boy accused of gunning down his family in Fall City on Monday now faces charges of first-degree murder and attempted murder.
Newly-filed charging documents allege the teenager gunned down his family, then staged it to appear as a "murder-suicide" perpetrated by his 13-year-old brother. The county's decedents list identifies members of the Humiston family, including parents Mark and Sarah, 13-year-old Benjamin, 9-year-old Joshua and 7-year-old Katheryn. Their causes of death have been identified as "multiple gunshot wounds" and "gunshot wound to the head."
According to charging documents, the boy called 911 around 4:55 a.m. on Monday, out of breath and declaring that his younger brother "just shot my whole family and committed suicide, too," and that he was hiding in the main floor bathroom.
He told 911 operators his younger brother shot his family and himself after "he had been caught looking at pornography the night before, and that he was about to get in a lot of trouble," according to court docs.
During this call, his 11-year-old sister had escaped the home and ran to a neighbor's house a quarter-mile down the road while suffering a gunshot wound to her neck, and told neighbors her family had been shot dead.
According to court docs, the girl said she heard gunshots and screaming in the house, then she saw her brother's face, and then he shot her. She told authorities that she held her breath and played dead, and that she was scared her brother would follow her to the neighbor's house to find her.
Police arrived and took the 15-year-old boy into custody, and the injured sister was taken to Harborview Medical Center for emergency treatment.
Fall City homicide scene on Monday, Oct. 21, 2024.
She told police she and her sister Katheryn share a room and a bunk bed, and during the night, they were woken up by gunshots. She saw her father lying dead in the hallway, and when her younger sister left the bottom bunk and went into the hall to investigate, there was another gunshot and she saw her sister fall down, according to court docs.
The girl told police her brother came into her room and shot her once or twice, then went and checked the other family members' necks to make sure they were dead. As she escaped the house to get help, she said she saw her brother on the phone with police.
Investigators inspected the house, and found Benjamin's body in the hallway, with a handgun in his left hand. They noted there was no blood on the gun or his left hand, indicative of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Survivor of Fall City mass shooting released from hospital
The 11-year-old sister of the teen accused of shooting and killing five of his family members has since been released from the hospital after her brave escape.
"[The 15-year-old suspect] systematically murdered his mother, father, two brothers, and sister, and attempted to murder his other sister," read the investigators' findings in the charging docs. "[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."
The teenage suspect is currently being charged in juvenile court, and his next court date is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Friday.
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