Mother charged with murder after 4-year-old son’s body found near highway

CLARK COUNTY, Wash. (KPTV/Gray News) - A woman has been arrested and charged with the death of her 4-year-old son.

According to the Everett Police Department, 27-year-old Janet Garcia is facing a murder charge after her 4-year-old son’s body was found along Interstate 5 in Pierce County on Thursday.

Garcia’s son Ariel was reported missing by a family member on Wednesday in Everett, Wash.

According to court documents, a person close to Garcia reported finding a substantial amount of blood on the floor where Garcia was staying with her son after the two had left the residence.

Clark County deputies interviewed Garcia about the situation and she reportedly told them that her son had fallen off a bed and hit his head in Everett.

According to court documents, she told police that she took her son to a Providence Hospital in Everett, but found the wait was “too long” so she left, dropped her son with a friend in Seattle, and then took a bus to Ridgefield “to get alcohol treatment.”

Deputies noted that they saw blood on Garcia’s shoes and blood specks on her white shirt during her interview, documents said.

On Thursday, detectives said Ariel’s body was found near I-5 with the Snohomish County Medical Examiner determining his cause of death.

Authorities said Garcia was initially charged on Thursday with giving false statements to law enforcement.

According to deputies, Garcia could not articulate any of the locations she said she went to.

On Friday, the Everett Police Department said Garcia is also facing charges of first-degree murder, second-degree murder and first-degree assault of a child.

According to police, they are continuing their investigation, including looking into a vehicle of interest that was found in a business parking lot in the Ridgefield area.

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