TACOMA, Wash. — This story was originally published on MyNorthwest.com.
Prosecutors charged a Pierce County teenager with second-degree murder after he allegedly stabbed and killed his mother’s boyfriend during a fight in their shared apartment unit.
The teen pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors are pursuing charges against the 15-year-old as an adult. A hearing has been scheduled for May 19.
Details on the fatal stabbing
Deputies with the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office were called to Coventry Court Apartments on the 1000 block of 76th Street Court E. in Tacoma at approximately 1:45 a.m. The mother and her boyfriend, 23, were allegedly having a verbal argument when the teenage son, 15, got involved and stabbed the boyfriend multiple times.
“Neighbors had told deputies that they heard yelling and things being thrown around the apartment just prior to the screams for help,” Pierce County Detective Courteney Bealko stated in court documents obtained by KIRO Newsradio.
The fight was allegedly about the boyfriend accusing his girlfriend, the suspect’s mother, of cheating on him.
When the deputies arrived, they found the teenage son at the crime scene with blood on his face but no visible injuries, according to court documents. He was subsequently taken into custody. According to Bealko, the teenage suspect said he did not intend to cause harm.
“When I asked why Jullian had stabbed the victim, she replied that the victim had assaulted her at one point during the argument, and when Jullian saw this, he said something to the victim, who then followed Jullian into his bedroom and they started to argue,” Pierce County Detective Monti Minion wrote in court documents.
According to Minion’s statement, the mother had a bruise next to her right eye, with swelling that extended to her jawbone.
The victim of the stabbing was taken to Tacoma General Hospital, where he died. While in custody, the suspect referred to the victim as his stepfather.
“(The mother) turned to face me and asked if the victim was dead. I confirmed that he had died,” Minion continued. “She lost control of herself and slid out of the back of the car onto the ground. She continued to yell and scream and stated that we had killed the victim due to a lack of medical aid when patrol had arrived on scene. I explained that we did everything that we could have done for him. I could tell that she was intoxicated as I could smell the strong odor of intoxicants on her breath.”
The suspect has a 9-year-old brother, who was home during the incident.
While the suspect was in custody, he began talking to the officers.
“He said he was asleep and was mad when he got woken up by the victim,” Minion stated. “He then went in and told the victim to ‘shut up.’ (He) then said he got scared and grabbed a knife. The victim then grabbed him and pushed him into his bedroom. (The teenage suspect) said he thought the victim had hurt his mom. He also stated that the victim threatened to knock him out.”
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