EVERETT — A Texas teen accused of drowning his 6-year-old nephew is not expected back in court until early next year.
Andrew Henckel agreed to waive his right to a speedy trial to give his lawyer more time to prepare for the next step in the case. Seattle defense attorney Michele Shaw entered a not guilty plea on behalf of Henckel during a brief hearing Tuesday.
Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Janice Ellis kept Henckel’s bail at $1 million. Trial is scheduled for Jan. 26.
Henckel, 19, is charged with first-degree murder. He allegedly told detectives he planned to kill Dayvid Pakko minutes before he filled a tub with water and called the boy into the bathroom. He also reportedly had already decided to dispose of the boy’s body in an outdoor garbage bin.
Henckel allegedly gave no reason for wanting to kill Dayvid. He reportedly said he “wasn’t really thinking. Just kind of did it,” according to court papers.
Dayvid’s body was found Oct. 17 in a trash bin outside the family’s Lynnwood apartment some nine hours after his mother called 911 to report her son missing. Hundreds of volunteers and law enforcement officers searched for the boy.
Early on, detectives were suspicious of Dayvid’s disappearance. They were told that he had autism but didn’t have a history of wandering away. They were told Dayvid had been wearing green camouflage dinosaur pajamas but they found the bottoms, turned inside out, on top of the washing machine.
Henckel was interviewed just after 10 p.m. Oct. 16, telling police Dayvid had gone missing while he took a short nap. Henckel had been staying with his sister since arriving from Texas about a week earlier. Investigators were told that Henckel might be autistic.
Dayvid was a first-grader at Beverly Elementary School. In an obituary, his mom wrote that her son loved trains, cars, planes and Legos. He would have turned 7 this Sunday.
Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com.
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