Teen accused of stabbing man to death in Renton

RENTON, Wash. – A 19-year-old accused of stabbing a man in Renton is now out of custody, the King County Prosecutor's Office (KCPAO) said Monday.

According to probable cause documents, officers were called to an apartment on NE 18th Street on Sept. 27 for a stabbing. The suspect called and said, “He stabbed someone,” and police reported that a “man stabbed a handyman in the house.”

Officers contacted the suspect outside the residence, who had blood on his pants and shoes. According to court documents, Renton police eventually found a 65-year-old man inside the apartment suffering from knife wounds to his chest and groin area. The man was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police said the suspect did not verbally acknowledge his Miranda rights or answer questions about the stabbing. When asked if he was injured, he told police that his shoulder was injured but did not want to elaborate, police said.

Witnesses from a nearby apartment said they heard an argument and a scuffle and eventually looked outside and saw the suspect standing outside the apartment covered in blood and holding a bloody knife. Documents show that police had not yet found the bloody knife at the time of its initial booking.

When the suspect was taken to the Renton Police Department and placed in an interview room, he again did not acknowledge his rights or answer any of the officer's general questions, documents show.

The suspect made his first court appearance Saturday, KCPAO said. Prosecutors argued that he should be held on high bail, and after both sides entered their pleas, a judge set bail at $50,000.

A spokesman for the prosecutor's office said the suspect had posted bail and was now out of police custody.

KING 5 will not release the names of the suspects until they are formally charged.