Everett mother held on $5 million bail for violent murder of her 4-year-old son

EVERETT, Wash, — A judge ordered bail of $5 million Monday for the Everett mother accused of killing her 4-year-old son and leaving his body on the side of Interstate 5 in Pierce County last week.

Janet Garcia, 27, made her first appearance in Snohomish County Court Monday morning after her arrest on Friday in connection to the death of her son, Ariel Garcia. According to court filings, police believe Janet Garcia stabbed the boy “up to 41 times” in a gruesome attack inside an apartment on Vesper Drive in Everett last week.

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Investigators allege the boy’s death may have stemmed from a custody dispute between Janet Garcia and her mother, who petitioned on March 25 to obtain guardianship of Ariel Garcia.

“I found there to be reason to believe that this intent to cause death was pre-meditated due to Janet being involved in an ongoing custody issue with her mother,” a detective wrote in an arrest report.

The detective described in graphic detail the injuries to the child, which included defensive wounds to his arms and hands. Arrest documents say Janet Garcia had blood on her shirt and shoes when she was taken into custody.

Everett police allege Janet Garcia killed the boy, dumped his body alongside I-5 in Pierce County, then fled to Clark County in southern Washington where she checked into an alcohol rehabilitation center.

The police report alleges detectives have surveillance video of Janet driving her Nissan Sentra through a gate at Joint Base Lewis McChord near the area where Ariel Garcia’s body was recovered.

In court Monday, Janet Garcia’s defense attorney, Max Mensinger, raised questions about the investigation and raised the possibility other people may be involved.

“The indication in these reports is that at this time that this allegedly occurred, her family had become concerned about her substance use. We should be mindful that substance users are provided those substances by more dangerous elements, and in that world one can find themselves quickly in over their head,” Mensinger said.

Mensinger requested Janet Garcia’s bail be lowered to $1 million.

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“Law enforcement have not located any kind of weapon and the medical examiner is still investigating. That investigation is going to play out. Making false statements, which is what she originally accused of, is not the same as murder. There are too many question marks here for the court to assume the state has found their person and that person is Janet. There is a danger of turning Janet into a scapegoat and ignoring there are signs that other people were involved,” he said.

Snohomish County District Court Commissioner Jennifer Millett denied the reduction in bail, keeping it at $5million.

“The court does believe there is a substantial likelihood that a crime of violence will occur in the future,” she said.