Bothell murder suspect found not guilty by reason of insanity
Published 1:36 pm Wednesday, June 17, 2026
EVERETT — A Bothell man accused of killing his father in 2022 was found not guilty by reason of insanity and committed to Western State Hospital on Wednesday.
Gavin Wollman, now 39, could spend the rest of his life in a psychiatric hospital under an acquittal agreement approved by Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Jennifer Langbehn.
“I’m sorry for my behavior, I’d like to let my mother know that I am sorry for everything,” Gavin Wollman told the judge before the decision was made.
He was charged with second-degree murder for allegedly beating his father, Robert Wollman, to death inside their Bothell home on June 3, 2022, court records said.
Officers found Robert Wollman seated in a recliner in the family’s living room with his head caved in, according to charging documents.
Gavin Wollman told detectives his dad had made fun of him and threatened him, but he described having little memory of what occurred, charging documents said. He has a lifelong history of mental health diagnoses, according to court records.
The murder charge against Gavin Wollman was dismissed in 2023 and he was civilly committed after a judge ruled he was not fit to stand trial, The Daily Herald previously reported. He was deemed competent to stand trial and arraigned again in August 2025, court records said.
On Wednesday, more than four years after his initial arrest, lawyers agreed to a stipulated acquittal for reasons of insanity that ensured Gavin Wollman would receive inpatient treatment for the foreseeable future.
“It has taken us a long time to get to this point, the State believes it is the right point,” said Rebecca Vasquez, a deputy prosecutor with Snohomish County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. “The State’s hope and expectation is that Mr. Wollman will engage in treatment at Western State Hospital. (He will) stabilize to the point that he is ultimately able to engage in community-based treatment and hopefully will continue to gain insight into the risk factors that exist to the point that it is safe for him to be out in the community.”
Gavin Wollman can be committed to psychiatric treatment for as long as the maximum penalty of the charges he was facing, according to Washington state law. In this case, second-degree murder can carry a life sentence.
“At this time, the defendant needs to be kept under the control of the court,” Vasquez said.
Ian Davis-Leonard: 425-339-3097; ian.davis-leonard@heraldnet.com
