Prosecutors want to move the Fall City teen charged with murdering his family to adult court

KING COUNTY, Wash. – King County prosecutors want to move the case against a 15-year-old boy charged with murdering his family to adult court.

The teen is scheduled to appear in juvenile court Friday afternoon and prosecutors are expected to formally request that the case be moved to the adult court system. Ultimately, however, a judge will decide whether this happens.

“This process takes months for all types of cases – the judge will have multiple opportunities to hear from prosecutors and the defense before making a final decision,” said Casey McNerthney, a spokesman for KCPAO.

On Thursday, the teenager was charged with five counts of aggravated first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder.

Charging documents say the teen shot and killed all six of his family members in their home on Lake Alice Road near Fall City in the early hours of Monday.

The King County Medical Examiner's Office identified the shooting victims as Katheryn Humiston, 7, Joshua Humiston, 9, Benjamin Humiston, 13, and parents Mark Humiston, 43, and 42-year-old Sarah Humiston.

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An 11-year-old girl survived the shooting and ran to a neighbor's house for help after escaping out a window. According to a police report, the 11-year-old told police that her 15-year-old brother killed the family.

The 15-year-old suspect went to another neighbor's house, called 911 and claimed it was his 13-year-old brother Benjamin who killed the family, according to charging documents.

Sheriff's investigators allege the 15-year-old staged the crime scene and then tried to blame the shooting on his brother.

RELATED:15-year-old accused of killing family, staged scene to frame deceased younger brother

Earlier this week, Judge Joe Campagna issued an order prohibiting the media from revealing the 15-year-old's name.

The decision on whether to move the case to adult court will have a significant impact on the possible sentence, prosecutors said.

“If convicted of the charge in adult court, the penalty established by the state legislature is 25 years to life with a presumption of release after 25 years,” McNerthney said. “The state’s Indeterminate Sentence Review Board will make the release decision. If it remains in the juvenile court, the 15-year-old could only be held until the age of 25 – i.e. in less than ten years – without further sanctions.

This story will be updated during Friday afternoon's hearing.