Mom Charged with Murder After Her Son, 4, Is Found Dead in Washington

Janet Garcia is facing assault and murder charges after Ariel Garcia’s body was discovered along an interstate highway

A Washington woman was arrested on Friday in connection with the death of her missing 4-year-old son, whose body was found along an interstate highway on Thursday.

Janet Garcia, 27, is facing charges of murder in the first degree, murder in the second degree and assault of a child in the first degree, the Everett Police Department (EPD) said in statement detailing the events surrounding Ariel Garcia’s death.

A relative reported the boy went missing Wednesday, and Janet became a “person of interest” within hours of her son being reported missing, according to the EPD, which made the arrest.

The Clark County Sheriff’s Office previously placed Janet into custody Wednesday for allegedly “making false and misleading statements” to police before Friday’s arrest. Janet was booked into Snohomish County Jail on Friday.

Police were notified that a body — later identified as Ariel’s — had been discovered along Interstate 5 in Pierce County, Washington, on Thursday evening just before 6 p.m. local time.

The body was discovered after an extensive search that involved more than 100 officers, agents and investigators, including the FBI.

“On behalf of the Everett Police Department, I want to share our condolences with the loved ones of young Ariel Garcia. This is not the outcome we had hoped for,” said Everett Chief of Police John DeRousse in the statement.

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“I want to thank all our partners that jumped into action to support this search effort,” he added. “Our investigation will continue and we will do everything we can to ensure there is justice for this young boy.”

Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin also released a statement: “I am completely heartbroken for the family and friends of Ariel Garcia and they will remain in my thoughts as they grieve this unbelievably tragic loss,” she said.

“I want to commend our Everett Police Department leadership, the many hard-working men and women that make up our team and our law enforcement partners throughout the region for all your work investigating this case,” Franklin continued.

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