Arlington man allegedly killed by son is identified

Published 1:47 pm Tuesday, September 14, 2021

ARLINGTON — A 63-year-old Arlington man allegedly killed by his son last week was identified Tuesday by the Snohomish County Medical Examiner.

Nicholi Melum was in an argument with his 19-year-old son, Garner, in their Arlington-area home after 9 p.m. on Sept. 6. The father was yelling at his son to come out of his room, his mother told 911 dispatchers, according to a police report filed in Everett District Court.

The mother said she “thought her husband broke the door down, but it looks like …”

She stopped mid-sentence.

She then said, “My husband is laying on his back and he’s bleeding.”

The younger Melum told the call-taker that he shot his father with birdshot, according to police. The medical examiner classified the cause of death as a gunshot wound.

Garner Melum, who was arrested for investigation of second-degree murder, was in the Snohomish County Jail on Tuesday with bail set at $500,000.