Washington mansion killings: 15-year-old 'killed' parents, siblings; was raised in ‘militant survivalist' home

Time of India

02-08-2025

A 15-year-old boy accused of murdering nearly his entire family in their $2 million lakeside mansion in suburban Seattle was raised under a 'rigid, militant survivalist ideology' and kept isolated from the outside world, according to new court documents filed last week.
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Prosecutors allege that the teenager, whose identity remains protected due to his age, fatally shot his parents, Mark and Sarah Humiston, as well as his siblings Benjamin, 13, Joshua, 9, and Katheryn, 7, in the early hours of a morning in October last year.
Only his 11-year-old sister survived after pretending to be dead when he shot her in the neck and hand. She managed to escape through a window and ran to a neighbour's home for help.
Court filings, obtained by KOMO News, suggest the family lived an extremely secluded and controlled life shaped by religious extremism and deep distrust of government and medical authorities.
'A common theme that has been expressed amongst extended family, neighbors, and those who knew the Humistons is that the children were isolated from the outside world and did not engage socially with many peers – only a select few families that went to their church and were friends of their family,' the documents said, as cited by the New York Post.
'Furthermore, initial reports indicate the home was abusive, tightly controlled, and dominated by extreme religious beliefs.'
The children were homeschooled, and the entire family reportedly adhered to a rigid lifestyle based on survivalist values. The Humistons were described as intensely paranoid about government interference, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, and harboured deep mistrust of medical professionals, especially in relation to the vaccine.
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According to the defence team, all the children had access to firearms, and it was Mark Humiston's own handgun that the teenager used to carry out the massacre. Charging documents claim he opened fire at around 5 am, methodically checking the pulses of his victims after shooting them, New York Post reported.
Despite the brutality of the attack, nearly 100 interviews with family members and acquaintances painted the boy as 'kind, respectful, and deeply devoted to his family.'
Even his maternal grandmother expressed sympathy for the accused, reportedly telling investigators that Sarah Humiston 'was abusive and demeaning to the children,' and that she had once threatened to report the parents for alleged mistreatment.
In an apparent effort to mislead investigators, the boy called 911 after the killings and claimed his 13-year-old brother had shot the family before killing himself after being caught viewing pornography the night before. He is said to have staged the crime scene to support this narrative, even placing the murder weapon in his brother's hand before first responders arrived.
The teen was arrested at the scene and now faces five counts of first-degree aggravated murder and one count of first-degree attempted murder.