Mother appears in court as documents state Everett boy, 4, was stabbed repeatedly

Janet Garcia, 27, appeared in Snohomish County District Court Monday afternoon in connection to the death of an Everett boy, her four-year-old son.

District County Judge Jennifer Millett found probable cause for the potential charges of 1st-degree murder, 2nd-degree murder and 1st-degree assault of a child.

Past coverage: Mother arrested in connection to death of 4-year-old boy

Janet Garcia’s bail was set at $5 million.

“The demonstrated violence that Ms. Garcia showed toward an extraordinarily vulnerable victim, that being her four-year-old child,” Snohomish County Deputy Prosecutor Corrinne Klein said.

The Snohomish County Medical Examiner said in a short statement Saturday Ariel Garcia, 4, died of homicidal violence. (A PDF of the medical examiner’s media report can be viewed here.) Court documents reveal the boy was found in sticker bushes, near a fence in the vicinity of Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Pierce County. His body was partially wrapped in a Christmas blanket.

Court documents reveal Ariel Garcia was stabbed over 40 times

Court documents indicate the boy had around 40 “through-and-through sharp force wounds” to his torso, chest, and back. Specifically, there were over 16 wounds to the front of his body, including his upper chest and arm. There was an “undetermined amount” to his upper back.

“The autopsy is still ongoing in part due to the compilation from the number of sharp-force injuries,” the court documents state.

According to Snohomish County court documents, a few days before, Janet Garcia had called a family member and told that person she had given her son up for adoption and checked herself into rehab in Vancouver.

A different family member told police about applying for a court order against Janet Garcia because she allegedly used crystal meth and had “episodes of extreme paranoia, where she believes people are watching her.”

However, Janet Garcia was reported last seen last Wednesday at an apartment where she and her son were staying with her ex-boyfriend’s mother.

When the ex-boyfriend’s mother got home she saw a blood stain on the carpet in the apartment and then texted Janet Garcia to ask what happened. Janet Garcia texted back saying they were fine and “don’t worry,” the documents state.

The next day Janet Garcia was located by law enforcement and arrested in Ridgefield. Officers found her at a group recovery home and her clothes reportedly had blood on them. Janet Garcia had told police her son had fallen, but her stories were inconsistent.

Janet Garcia was then arrested for making false statements to a public official.

More local crime: Teen accused of killing woman, 3 children in Renton crash pleads not guilty

Police in Everett served a search warrant on the apartment where she was living and a “large quantity of blood” was found, according to the court documents.

Janet Garcia appears in court from Snohomish County Jail

Janet Garcia appeared via video link from the Snohomish County Jail Monday. Though she has no criminal history, prosecutors said the high bail was necessary.

“She is likely to commit a violent offense in the community against her own family members, to intimidate witnesses, and otherwise interfere with the administration of justice,” prosecutor Klein said.

Should she make bail, the court ordered her to surrender her passport.

Contributing: Julia Dallas, MyNorthwest

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