No retrial for Marysville cop whose son shot sister

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.