Fall City Teen to Face Adult Trial

A King County judge ruled that the 17-year-old accused of killing his parents and three siblings and injuring another sibling in Fall City in October 2024 will be tried in adult court. After weeks of testimony, Judge Veronica Galván cited the gravity of the allegations and the teenager’s significant mental-health needs; prosecutors argued the killings were deliberate, while defense witnesses described an abusive, isolated upbringing and urged juvenile-court treatment. The teen faces five counts of aggravated first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder; a conviction could bring a sentence ranging from 25 years to life, whereas juvenile jurisdiction would have meant release by age 23. Separately, a Douglas County, Nebraska, judge denied 16-year-old Jcauri Sneed’s appeal to transfer his first-degree murder case to juvenile court; authorities say he admitted to shooting 19-year-old Ashtin Fletcher in a doorbell-camera recording.