Grandparents in the city of Roy are grieving the death of their grandson, Jesse Brayton, age 12.
They also are faced with the reality that their son murdered the little boy, then killed himself.
Chris and Peggy Brayton had been raising their grandson since he was a baby. Jesse Brayton was going into seventh grade in the Bethel School District, where Peggy worked. Chris Brayton is a firefighter at the Boeing plant in Fredrickson. The couple was proud of the active little boy, who loved sports like wrestling and riding a unicycle.
He'd been in a race with his grandfather days before he was killed.
The couple's son, Jesse's uncle, also lived in the family home in Roy. Christian Brayton, who went by his middle name, Alex, was a roofer.
A family friend told KIRO 7 Alex Brayton, 27, started showing signs of mental illness last year.
His family took him to a doctor, but there were days Brayton didn’t want help for the behavior his family described as "moody.” Because of federal privacy laws, his concerned family was unable to know exactly what doctors were advising.
There was no indication he was violent.
Still, his family removed all weapons from the house last year.
Neighbor and friend Lisa Weed says the guns were locked at her house. The family thought they were taking precautions.
Last Sunday, Chris Brayton called Weed to tell her the "unthinkable" had happened.
The Pierce County Sheriff's Office says Alex Brayton murdered his nephew with a machete early Sunday morning. The Brayton family says Jesse was killed as he slept.
After the murder, Alex Brayton shot himself in the head and crashed his truck about a mile from the home, investigators said.
The family doesn't know when or where Alex Brayton got the gun, and doesn't know where he had been hiding it. They told KIRO 7 they did not know he had a gun.
The Braytons are struggling to survive this unbelievable tragedy.
Friends and family members are helping them by setting up the Brayton Family Benevolent Fund at Boeing Employees Credit Union.
[ There is a GoFundMe set up for the family as well. Click here to visit. ]