Arlington teen attacked while defending mom from stepfather

Published 1:30 am Friday, January 6, 2017

ARLINGTON — A 17-year-old boy was defending his mother from her husband when he was attacked Tuesday night, according to court papers.

The boy was thrown onto the ground head-first, suffered a seizure and stopped breathing. He was taken to the intensive care unit at Providence Regional Medical Center Everett.

As of Thursday, the boy had regained consciousness and his condition had improved. More medical testing is needed, deputy prosecuting attorney Katelyn Thomason said in court.

“Clearly, there was probability of death in this case,” she said.

The boy’s stepfather, 34, is accused of first-degree domestic-violence assault. He remains at the Snohomish County Jail.

In court Thursday, he attempted to provide rebuttal to the prosecutor’s allegations, but his defense attorney shut off his microphone.

A judge set bail at $75,000. The man has skipped court dates 30 times before. He also has seven prior felony convictions, including attempting to elude. Alcohol has been a factor in his previous cases, the judge noted.

The incident was reported about 11:30 p.m. Tuesday at the family’s home in the Getchell area of unincorporated Arlington.

The suspect and the woman have been married for about a year. The 17-year-old and his brother, 19, were trying to keep the man from assaulting her, according to the report.

Deputies arrived to find the suspect drunk and attempting resuscitation on the boy. The man allegedly fought with police and threatened to kill them and his family members. He reportedly tried to kick out the window of a patrol car and resisted a medical evaluation at the hospital before he was booked.

The man declined to speak with detectives.

Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @rikkiking.