derek_carlile.jpg
A jury couldn't decide this month whether or not Officer Derek Carlile should be convicted in his daughter's shooting death. Now the Snohomish Prosecutor's Office says it will not re-file charges. (AP Photo)

No retrial for Marysville cop whose son shot sister

BY Tim Haeck  on November 28, 2012 @ 11:08 am (Updated: 2:50 pm - 11/28/12 )

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The Marysville police officer whose 3-year-old son shot and killed his older sister, will not face a second trial for his role in the death.

"What we have to do, and I think we're really good at it, is make sure our decisions are based just on the facts and the law, and not on (emotions) or the occupation of participants," Snohomish County Prosecutor Mark Roe tells The Dori Monson Show.

Earlier this month, a jury deadlocked 7-4 in favor of acquittal in the case against Derek Carlile.

Snohomish County chief criminal deputy prosecuting attorney Joan Cavagnaro says her office reviewed the evidence, and talked to investigators and to jurors.

"All of that was done in this case and we concluded that it was very unlikely that a retrial would result in a different outcome."

"In any decision in whether to retry a case or not, certainly the jury split is one of the factors you take into consideration," says Roe.

The prosecutor's office filed an order dismissing the charge of manslaughter in the second degree against Carlile.

The boy shot his 7-year-old sister with their father's gun when officer Carlile got out of the van to run an errand. Defense attorney David Allen says the case should not have gone to trial.

"People make mistakes, accidents do happen, parents lose kids, it's a tragedy, but it's not always a crime."

Allen says Carlile accepts responsibility for what happened.

Carlile has been an officer in Marysville for about three years.

Allen says officer Carlile and his wife have heavy hearts over the death of their daughter and are thankful the case is over.

Tim Haeck, KIRO Radio Reporter
Tim Haeck is a news reporter with KIRO Radio. While Tim is one of our go-to, no-nonsense reporters, he also has a sensationally dry sense of humor and it will surprise some to learn he is a weekend warrior.
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Comments (22)


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  • otherpointofview wrote...
    no surprise here
    November 28, 2012 10:42 am
    of course there's no retrial.. he's a police officer. i wonder what kind of precedence this sets for all future "accidental/negligent discharge" cases..?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • jstumbo wrote...
    With the results of the first trial...
    November 28, 2012 11:18 am
    I can see that they would not retry. If they were going to give the same evidence, and the jury was already leaning not guilty, then really no need to waste tax payer money having another trial. While accidents do happen, while people do lose children, this is more than that. If I was driving 100 mph in a 35mph zone and missed a turn, rolled my car, and killed my child, would they just be saying that "accidents happen"? Or would they say that my negligence caused the death of my child?
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  • jstumbo wrote...
    With the results of the first trial...
    November 28, 2012 11:19 am
    I can see that they would not retry. If they were going to give the same evidence, and the jury was already leaning not guilty, then really no need to waste tax payer money having another trial. While accidents do happen, while people do lose children, this is more than that. If I was driving 100 mph in a 35mph zone and missed a turn, rolled my car, and killed my child, would they just be saying that "accidents happen"? Or would they say that my negligence caused the death of my child?
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  • xplanes wrote...
    Haters
    November 28, 2012 11:38 am
    No Justice huh? Living with the fact that you were responsible for your daughter's death is nothing huh? A majority of his peers voted for acquittal after a fair trial. What more do you want? A lynching. Talk about injustice, how about people who walk with time served or early release of sex offenders who were actually found guilty to begin with. Your idea of justice is a bit twisted by your hatred of LEOs.
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  • otherpointofview wrote...
    justice
    November 28, 2012 1:33 pm
    i don't think lynching anyone in this case is a good idea but what i think is that the couple in tacoma was found guilty of virtually the same crime/accident when their 3 year old boy found a loaded gun in the car and shot himself. unfortunate accident and very negligent by the parents to leave a loaded gun in the car with a child. so why does the police officer get a pass but not the other couple? i think that's the kind of lack of justice that AJ is talking about. the same could be said for the parents of the boy that took a loaded gun to school and accidently shot the girl in Bremerton. the boy and the parents get charged (not sure about the outcome of that trial though). It all seems like a tragic accident to me...
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  • calapete wrote...
    I'm extremely dissappointed in the jury
    November 28, 2012 12:09 pm
    the defense was easy, just cry and cry he did.

    Emotion trumped law and Jenna Carlile gets no justice.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • xplanes wrote...
    Defend my comments?
    November 28, 2012 12:20 pm
    Sure. Jury trial. All play by the same rules. Jury wasn't close to conviction this time and prolly wouldn't be next time. That's it. My comment was about you not accepting a jury verdict. Yeah, they could retry him, but that isn't automatic. Jury's aren't perfect but they aren't "the man" changing the rules for us common folk. I didn't defend him. I defended a jury VS a mob which you seem happy to represent.
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  • Sam Sasquatch wrote...
    REALLY AJ??
    November 28, 2012 12:33 pm
    Having him lynched? Thats really going to make a difference.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • heartshapedrock wrote...
    Anybody know..
    November 28, 2012 2:37 pm
    ... what was the outcome of this case that happened around the same time? http://mynorthwest.com/11/644669/3yearold-kills-self-with-gun-in-car-at-Tacoma-gas-station
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • AIG wrote...
    Anybody know..
    November 28, 2012 3:25 pm
    Here are a few more details. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/28/toddler-shot-himself-tacoma-jahnisha-mcintosh_n_1386029.html
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • AIG wrote...
    Officer Carlile
    November 28, 2012 3:21 pm
    This man will live with consequences of his actions for the rest of his days. In my mind, there couldn't be a worse punishment. R.I.P. Jenna Carlile
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • otherpointofview wrote...
    true true
    November 28, 2012 3:33 pm
    that's very true..being a father myself it would kill me inside. if that's punishment enough then that should hold true for all the other similar cases like the boy that shot himself in Tacoma due to his mother/boyfriends negligence..i'm sure she's suffering as well...and now has to do it in jail on top of it.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Realitycheck wrote...
    You people and especially AJ are very sick people
    November 28, 2012 8:00 pm
    This guy made a mistake.....a mistake, all of us make mistakes daily. Some have severe consequences and to suggest that he regrets nothing is just plain stupid because none of us knows what goes on in his head. If somebody else's kid would've died this would've been a different verdict. The man didn't even pull the trigger all he did was leave his weapon in a location his kid had access to. A fatal mistake yes, but no time in prison would make it any better for anybody since only his family would suffer with him in prison. You guys/gals make it sound like he just told his wife " oh well, one gone, we just make another". You people are the sick ones that should be in prison not this very remorseful cop. He is probably dying a little bit each day thinking it was his carelessness that killed his oldest.
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  • ron prevost wrote...
    Thanks, reality. Someone has to say it.
    November 29, 2012 6:46 am
    A little more humanity and a lot less blind hatred is always appreciated.

    .

    And, BTW, AJ. Just how is your blind hatred of (most) everything police any different from others on this site who blindly hate all religion? Or from any other irrational hatred?

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  • Darndy wrote...
    I agree with Reality
    November 29, 2012 8:16 am
    The guy lost his daughter; there's his punishment. I wouldn't put too much stock into what people like AJ have to say.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Troll Hunter wrote...
    Realitycheck
    November 30, 2012 12:56 am
    I haven't heard anyone suggest that this man feels no remorse for what happened, in fact I'm sure we all suspect that he feels a tremendous amount of remorse and regret. I'm sure each day is torture for him thinking about what happened; just as I'm sure that any one of us would in the same situation. Would prison time alleviate or lessen his feelings of guilt? I really don't know, maybe we should ask the other men who were imprisoned for the same set of circumstances.

    See, therein lies the problem. We have incarcerated others for the same situation, setting a precedent that they are accountable. By insisting this man be free while others are incarcerated for the same crime creates a set of double standards, which is what people like AJ and myself find offensive. You seem to want to give him a free pass strictly because he is in law enforcement.

    You say he didn't pull the trigger, which is true. You try to make it sound like a minor error when you say "all he did was leave his weapon in a location his kid had access to". Leaving a loaded weapon unattended and easily accessible to small children, or anyone else for that matter, is not a minor error. As a law enforcement officer he underwent gun training which teaches as a fundamental rule to NEVER leave a loaded gun unattended, even for a moment. Anyone who goes through gun safety training know that weapons are always to be kept secure at all times; no exceptions. I have a friend whose father was a sheriff, and he never left his weapon just lying around. If it wasn't on his person he kept it in a secured location that only he had access to, just as he was trained.

    I feel sorry for officer Carlile, just as i feel sorry for any parent who has to deal with the knowledge that their negligence cost their child's life. I feel even more sorry for his wife who has to look at him every day, knowing he is basically the reason she will never get to hold her child again.

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