Mother charged in death of missing Everett boy

Mom charged in murder of 4-year-old son

An Everett woman accused of brutally stabbing her 4-year-old son and dumping his body near Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) has been charged with the boy's murder.

EVERETT, Wash. - An Everett woman accused of brutally stabbing her 4-year-old son and dumping his body near Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) has been charged with the boy's murder.

A missing person alert was issued for 4-year-old Ariel Garcia on March 28. He was last seen in his home in 4800 block of Vesper Drive the day before the alert went out.

However, when most Washingtonians got the alert on their phone, Garcia's body had already been discovered over a fence line at JBLM, bloodied and wrapped in a Christmas blanket.

Investigators were searching for the child's mother, 27-year-old Janet Garcia.

Search for missing Everett boy

A friend told investigators that Ariel and his mother were staying with her. When the friend returned home on the 27th, she saw a "substantial" amount of blood on the floor, but Ariel and his mother were nowhere to be seen.

Police arrived at the apartment and cut out the carpeting, where they found the blood had seeped into the carpet padding and onto the subflooring, leading them to believe a serious injury had occurred.

Investigators tracked Garcia to Clark County, where she was trying to check herself into a rehab facility in Ridgefield, Clark County.

Garcia, who was found with blood on her shoes and clothing, was asked about the whereabouts of Ariel. She did not deny that the blood was Ariel's and told police that the child had fallen off the bed and hit his head, so she brought him to a hospital.

She also told police that she tried checking Ariel into two hospitals, but left because the wait was too long and she felt he was "okay" enough.

Garcia then changed her story several times about how the child was hurt, and where the child could be. She initially said he was in Portland, then said he was in Seattle, then said he was with a friend whose address she didn't know, according to charging documents.

She was initially booked for making false statements to law enforcement while the investigation continued.

An autopsy of the child revealed that he had been stabbed 41 times. Investigators initially reported that he had been stabbed 16 times-- the wounds were so deep that some appeared as one large gash instead of over 40 separate stab wounds, according to court documents.

The FBI also tracked Garcia's phone movements, which showed her going from the apartment in Everett, to JBLM then down to Ridgefield, according to court documents.

Custody disputes and abuse allegations

Just two days before Ariel was reported missing and was later found dead, his grandmother filed for "emergency minor guardianship," claiming that the child's mother "has a long history of alcohol and substance abuse that has gotten worse in the last few months."

Garcia and her mother, Ariel's grandmother, had been arguing over text over Garcia being unable to see her children, court documents said.

According to charging documents, the child's grandmother also filed for emergency custody of Garcia's other child, Ariel's 7-year-old half-brother, the same day Ariel was reported missing.

The documents said "family members observed the Defendant [Garcia] being physically and verbally aggressive" towards her two children.

When investigators spoke to the 7-year-old after his mother's arrest, he said that Garcia had been "hurting him a lot" and that she was "too aggressive with him," according to court documents.

The child alleged his mother choked him and dragged him down the stairs, and that his head hurt as a result. He said his head still hurt days later, when she allegedly pulled him out of his bed, causing him to hit his sore head again, court documents said.

Garcia has been charged with first-degree murder-domestic violence.

Bail has been set at $5 million.