Bodies of two teens found dead along I-5 in North Seattle just hours apart

SEATTLE — WSP says the bodies of two 16-year-olds were found along I-5 with gunshot wounds within a ten-hour span and less than a quarter of a mile apart.

Trooper Rick Johnson says it’s still not clear if these cases are connected, but detectives are hard at work putting the pieces together.

The first teen was found on I-5 in the far right lane around 10:30 Thursday.

Around 8:00 Friday morning, another teen was found in a ditch next to the Northeast 85th Street Northbound onramp.

Trooper Johnson says each teen had gunshot wounds when they were discovered.

“But this….you know, two within a certain period of time….you know it’s sad,” Trooper Johnson said.

The teen discovered Friday was found dead in a ditch along an Interstate 5 onramp in North Seattle.

Troopers were called to the northbound I-5 onramp at Northeast 85th Street at around 8 a.m.

They found a teen with an apparent gunshot wound, according to the Washington State Patrol.

Seattle Fire Department medics were called to the scene, but the teen was already dead.

According to the King County Medical Examiner’s Office, the teen was identified as Jahaz S. Phillips, 16, of Seattle.

His death was ruled a homicide.

The ramps to and from I-5 were closed at 85th while evidence was collected and the body was recovered.

KIRO 7 spoke with those who live near that stretch of I-5. To say they were shocked by the news is an understatement.

“It’s kind of scary when it’s on a ramp. Sort of a busy, fast,” Jake Rower said.

Rower says while this does not impact his views on safety in the neighborhood, he does feel the public is becoming more and more jaded.

“We’re so desensitized to all the suffering in the city because it’s out in public and it has been for years and the city doesn’t seem to know how to deal with it,” Rower said.

Washington State Patrol also believes given the location of where each teen was found, someone could know something.

“That’s why we want this out there. We want people to go ‘I was in that area and saw this.’ You know, that kind of thing,” Trooper Johnson said.

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