SEATTLE — The maternal grandmother of the teenage suspect accused of killing nearly his entire family took the stand in the suspect’s hearing to determine whether he will be tried in juvenile court or adult court.
The grandmother, Kathryn Ogden, is also the legal guardian of the other surviving child, a 13-year-old girl, who escaped after being shot inside the Fall City home.
In October 2024, authorities responded to the Fall City home, finding three children and two adults deceased. One of the children, an 11-year-old girl at the time, escaped. The then 15-year-old eldest son is accused of the murders and has not entered a plea until the jurisdiction is decided.
A nurse for decades, Ogden recognized a respiratory disease in the suspect the weekend before the murders, but when asked, nothing else stood out about his behavior.
Ogden said she would take care of the kids weekly, mainly Fridays so the parents could have a date night. There, the mother gave Ogden rules to follow, including withholding breakfast for the children who didn’t get up in time for their homeschooling.
The two had a falling out when Ogden refused to move into the family’s home. It caused her enough stress to lead her to see a counselor.
“The counselor told you that she didn’t think that it was a healthy situation for you to be in?” A defense attorney asked.
“Yes,” Ogden said.
“When you finally made up your mind not to live with them, you were concerned about how you were going to tell that to Sarah?” the attorney asked.
“Yes,” Ogden said.
Ogden, relying at times on a transcript of her interview with detectives immediately after the shooting, said the discipline her daughter would use on her grandchildren would raise to a level that concerned her, saying a rubber spatula would be used to hit the children if they did something wrong.
Ogden gave a picture of the mother’s upbringing, including an abusive father who Ogden ended up divorcing. Ogden testified her ex-husband would spank both of her children out of anger and that she tried to protect them from it. Ogden’s daughter sought counseling twice, though the counselor suggested more sessions.
“She told you that she didn’t think it did any good?” the defense attorney asked.
“Yes,” Sarah replied.
“And that counselor told you that [the Mother] had a lot of anger and that if she didn’t deal with it, it could become really problematic in her life?” The attorney asked
“Yes,” Ogden said.
In the weeks leading up to the killings, Ogden recalled one of the regular walks she would take with her daughter, saying her daughter felt overwhelmed, felt suicidal, and keeping up with the animals, homeschooling, and the kids was weighing on her, though never sought treatment for it.
Over the next several weeks, King County Judge Veronica Galván will determine whether or not to try the suspect as an adult based on several factors.