Police Say Teen Killed Family, Tried to Blame It on Brother

The 15-year-old suspected of murdering his parents and three of his four siblings at their Washington state home early Monday was charged in juvenile court Thursday with five counts of first-degree domestic violence murder and one count of first-degree attempted murder with a firearm enhancement. Prosecutors say they will ask a judge to move the case to adult court, which would allow the teen to be held—if convicted—past age 25, KUOW reports. Meanwhile, more details about the tragedy were revealed, including the fact that the suspect himself made one of the 911 calls. He told the dispatcher he was hiding after his younger brother fatally shot his whole family and then himself, KING 5 reports.

But that story was contradicted by his 11-year-old sister, who managed to escape the house after pretending to be dead, the AP reports. She fled out a window and ran to a neighbor's house, and in that neighbor's 911 call, the dispatcher was told that the little girl reported it was her oldest brother who shot the entire family. She later told police her brother had recently gotten in trouble for failing tests at school, and says she woke up Monday to the sounds of screams and gunshots before her 15-year-old brother shot her while she was still in her bunk bed. She was injured in the neck and hand, but pretended to be dead until her brother left. She says she saw the bodies of other family members in the hallway as she escaped.

Police identified the victims as Sarah Humiston, 42, Mark Humiston, 43, and their children Katheryn Humiston, 7, Joshua Humiston, 9, and Benjamin Humiston, 13. Police say they believe the teen suspect tried to stage the scene as if his 13-year-old brother was responsible for the killings, placing a Glock handgun in the younger boy's hand. The 11-year-old survivor told police she believed her brother carried out the killings using her father's Glock handgun, and that he was the only child who knew the code to access the gun's lockbox. She was released from a hospital Tuesday, and her older brother has been barred from contacting her. (More Washington state stories.)