Teen suspect in Fall City family murders to be tried as adult

We begin with a major ruling in the case against a Fall City teenager accused of killing five members of his family inside a Fall City home in 2024. A judge says the now 17 year old can now be charged as an adult. Fox 13 was in court this afternoon where King County Superior Court Judge Veronica Galvin ruled the case will be moved out of the juvenile system. The young man was 15 years old when the murders happened in October of 2024. He faces five counts of murder and one count of one count of attempted murder. Prosecutors say he killed both his parents, three of his siblings and attempted to kill a fourth sibling who was able to escape to safety. The court has heard testimony for weeks about the mental state and environment the teen was raised in with mental health experts and family members weighing in. Declination of a juvenile jurisdiction is warranted only under the most exceptional of circumstances. This case meets that standard due to both the extraordinary nature of the allegations and the respondent's significant mental health needs. And underpinning our practices. Prosecutors argued if the case stayed in the juvenile system, the teen could be released to a group home as soon as a year or possibly earlier.