A Washington mother has been charged with stabbing her infant child 41 times, brutally killing her 4-year-old son, according to court documents obtained by FOX 13.
Janet Garcia, 27, was charged Friday with first-degree murder in the March 27 death of her son Ariel Garcia in Everett, Washington.
The indictment initially identified 16 “sharp force wounds,” but an autopsy revealed there were 41.
Washington mother charged with murdering and stabbing 4-year-old son 16 times: Reports
At Garcia’s arraignment on Monday, prosecutors argued that the number of stab wounds showed the attack on Ariel was “prolonged.” The Everett Herald reported.
An autopsy said Ariel died from “homicidal violence.”
A grandmother was granted emergency custody of her 4-year-old grandson days before he was reported missing and later found dead, court documents reveal. (Everett Police Department)
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Charging documents said Garcia had relapsed into methamphetamine.
On March 27, Garcia’s roommate found bloodstains in her apartment and called local police.
The Washington State Patrol issued a Missing Person Alert for Ariel in the early hours of March 28, hours after she was last seen, and the Everett Police Department sent nearly 100 police officers from multiple jurisdictions to the scene. A search operation was launched in the area involving police officers, detectives and investigating officers. F.B.I.
The documents detail that Ariel’s body was found near Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) with 41 stab wounds.
Surveillance camera footage showed Garcia carrying an “infant-sized object” wrapped in a blanket.
The mother of a 4-year-old boy found dead in Washington state has been arrested in connection with his death. (Everett Police Department)
Custody dispute:
Days before a four-year-old boy was brutally murdered, his grandmother filed for an “emergency guardianship of the minor,” claiming that the boy’s mother had a “long-standing history of alcohol and drug abuse, which had worsened in recent months.” I applied.
According to court documents obtained by the station, Garcia and her mother, Ariel’s grandmother, had been arguing over text over Garcia’s inability to see her children.
On the same day Ariel went missing, Garcia also filed for emergency custody of her other child, Ariel’s 7-year-old half-brother.
During the investigation, family members said they observed Garcia being “physically and verbally aggressive” toward their two young children, according to charging documents.
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According to court documents, investigators spoke with the 7-year-old boy after his mother’s arrest and said Garcia was “very hurtful” and that his mother was “too aggressive with him.” That’s what it means.
The boy claimed that his mother strangled him and dragged him down the stairs, and that his mother’s treatment gave him a headache.
Garcia remains in the Snohomish County Jail on $3 million bail.
If convicted, she faces life in prison.
FOX News’ Stephanie Price contributed to this report.
