A juvenile court judge is weighing evidence to decide whether a teen accused of killing multiple family members will be tried as an adult.
A juvenile court judge is weighing evidence to decide whether a teen accused of killing multiple family members will be tried as an adult.
On Wednesday, the court heard from a theology expert and a forensic psychologist who evaluated the teen, who is accused of murdering his parents and three siblings in Fall City in 2024.
Wednesday's testimony offered a closer look inside the family's home life and the psychological abuse doctors say the teen endured. Defense attorneys say his parents held extreme religious beliefs and subjected him to intense psychological abuse.
Along with a bipolar disorder diagnosis, the teen was also diagnosed with PTSD stemming from that alleged abuse, according to court testimony.
Forensic psychologist Dr. Elizabeth Bain, who evaluated the teen and diagnosed him with PTSD, told the court he has matured and thrived since being in detention, which she described as unusual.
Dr. Bain noted "a history of chronic and prolonged psychological abuse, as well as reported threats of physical violence and physical violence as discipline," adding the teen "also reported intrusive recollections of past traumatic events."
The teen, now 17, has been held in secure detention since the murders. According to court testimony Wednesday, he attempted suicide a few months after the alleged crime.
Prosecutors allege he meticulously planned the killings, trying to stage the scene as a murder-suicide and pin the deaths on his younger brother. But Bain, who evaluated the teen, said that despite his very high IQ, she did not see any evidence of criminal sophistication.
"PTSD and the experience of trauma in childhood and adolescence is one of the most profound impacts on neural development," Bain said. "For individuals who experience repeated trauma and trauma in multiple developmental periods, so experience in childhood and adolescence, it actually impacts the structure of the brain, and it also impacts neural connections."
The court also heard from theology expert Marissa Burt, who studies white American evangelicalism, Christian parenting, and its impacts. Her testimony gave a sense of what the teen may have endured growing up.
The theological catechesis is harmful. Children are often told they're sinners from birth in a pretty heavy-handed way," Burt said. She added that it "comes with a lot of fear, a lot of shame, and a lot of isolation around those ideas.
Testimony has wrapped up, and closing arguments are expected Thursday afternoon. A judge will issue a decision in the coming weeks on whether the teen will face murder charges as an adult. If the case stays in juvenile court, the accused teen could be released by age 25, whereas if he's tried for murder as an adult, he could face up to life in prison.
