Fall City teen accused of killing family back in court for hearing to determine if he’ll be tried as an adult

The Fall City 17-year-old accused of killing five family members and injuring another is back in King County Court on Tuesday for a decline hearing that’ll determine if he is to be tried as a juvenile or an adult.

The decision comes nearly two years after five members of the family — Mark, 43, and Sarah, 42, and three of their children, Benjamin, 13, Joshua, 9, and Katheryn, 7 — were murdered in their home in Fall City.

Law enforcement from all over the region responded to the mass shooting on the morning of October 21, 2024. When deputies arrived at the home, they found the victims shot to death.

“Very, very sad,” King County Sheriff Patti Cole-Tindall told KIRO Newsradio in a news conference near the scene of the crime. “Very disturbed. I know that my team will do an excellent job in investigating this and we will determine the facts related to this incident.”

After Fall City killings, investigators say teen staged scene to blame his dead brother

Police said the then-15-year-old suspect’s 11-year-old sister was shot in the neck and played dead until he left the room. She ultimately fled to a neighbor’s house for help.

Investigators said the teen killed the family, then staged the scene to make it look like his dead brother did it, took a shower, changed his clothes, and called 911, according to KIRO 7.

The surviving sibling told police that it wasn’t true, naming her 15-year-old brother as the shooter.

At the time of the murders, the suspect was just two weeks away from his 16th birthday, according to police.

He was charged with five counts of aggravated first-degree murder and one count of attempted first-degree murder, according to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office (KCPAO).

At the time, Judge Kristin Richardson ordered that the suspect not be photographed, videotaped, or recorded above the shoulders and that his face not appear on TV. Richardson also ordered that his name not be revealed.

Tried as a minor, he could be released by age 25. As an adult, he faces a minimum 25 years

His age at the time of the murders plays a major role in the case for whether he should be tried as a juvenile or an adult.

If the suspect was 16 years old at the time of the murders, he would be automatically tried as an adult, but there has been an ongoing debate on how he should be tried.

If he were to be tried as an adult and found guilty, he would receive a minimum 25-year sentence with a possibility of release.

If tried as a minor and found guilty, he would be in prison until he was 25 and then released, meaning he would be in custody for less than 10 years since the murders occurred.

The judge can also select from a variety of sentencing options because the suspect had no prior convictions.

Additionally, the judge will consider eight factors in the case, such as the seriousness of the crime, his likelihood of rehabilitation, and any prior offenses.

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