SEATTLE — A 75-year-old woman was severely injured in December when a stranger attacked her with a board in front of the King County Courthouse.
Prosecutors say suspect Fale Pea hit Jeanette Marken in the face with a piece of wood that had a screw sticking out of it at the corner of James St. and 3rd Ave.
The assault, which was caught on camera, left Marken with a broken nose and cheekbone and caused her to lose vision in her right eye.
Andrius Dyrikis, Marken’s son, said his mother has since been released from the hospital.
“You never expect something like this to happen,” Dyrikis said of the broad-daylight attack.
Despite the severity of her injuries, Dyrikis described his mother as a resilient person.
“She’s a warrior. She’s strong. But this is not something that everyone can go through,” he said.
Seattle police body camera footage shows that officers and paramedics arrived at the scene within minutes. Police arrested Pea nearby after witnesses confirmed he was the assailant.
Dyrikis said the family is grateful for those who helped his mother during the incident.
“We have even teared up just knowing that thank God, honestly, like there were good people there when it happened,” Dyrikis said.
The family has questioned how the attack was able to occur, given that the suspect has a history in the court system.
“This could have been avoided completely. And it shouldn’t have happened,” Dyrikis said, noting that the situation felt preventable.
The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office says in the past 10+ years, Pea was charged in each of the two violent crimes they’ve been referred by police – one that led to a felony assault conviction in 2012, and the other being the current case.
Pea was convicted of four misdemeanors in 2023 and one misdemeanor assault in 2024 in cases handled by municipal City Attorneys, which are separate entities from the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
Dyrikis is now encouraging others to cherish their family members in the wake of this trauma.
“Just go hug them or tell them that you love them because you don’t know if you are going to have them tomorrow or the day after that,” Dyrikis said.
Pea remains in custody at the King County Jail. He is currently awaiting trial.
A GoFundMe has been created to help with medical expenses.
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