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Sheriff’s deputies believe the boy fatally shot his father after 11 p.m. Sunday as the man was sleeping with his fiancée at a home in the 10900 block of Delphi Road Southwest, sheriff’s Lt. Greg Elwin said.
Thurston County Coroner Gary Warnock identified the deceased as Jimmie R. Asher Jr., 39. The Olympian is not naming the juvenile suspect at this time.
The 13-year-old’s mother has hired Olympia attorney James Dixon to represent her son. In a phone interview Monday night, Dixon said that from interviewing family members, he knows of no pre-existing conflict between Asher and his son.
“He has no history of criminal behavior,” Dixon said of his client. “The information I have is he is a very pleasant, polite young man. There is no history of disagreements, animosity or tension between the 13-year-old and his father, other than what might be expected between any father-and-son relationship.”
The boy, who was sitting outside the residence in a car with the motor running to keep warm when sheriff’s deputies arrived, has been giving statements to investigators that have “evolved” over time, Elwin said.
“We’re still delving into why this happened,” he added.
The fiancée called 911 shortly after 11 p.m. after she realized that Asher had been shot, Elwin said. She initially did not know what had happened and did not suspect that the boy may have shot him, he added.
Elwin said investigators have taken a rifle from the residence.
Elwin said investigators were not aware of any allegations of abuse or neglect. He added that there was “nothing up to this point that appear to suggest any kind of mental illness.”
Dixon said he has been told by family members that the child was not taking any prescribed or nonprescribed medications at the time of his father’s death.
Elwin said that the boy grew up in a household that was familiar with firearms, and that there were several firearms in the home.
No one besides the boy, the fiancée and Asher were in the home at the time of the slaying, Elwin added.
Evidence at the scene, combined with the statements by the fiancée and the boy, gave investigators probable cause for an arrest, Elwin said.
A spokeswoman for the Tumwater School District confirmed that the 13-year-old attends Tumwater Middle School.
Dixon said his client had given multiple statements to detectives. Dixon said that he was recommending that his client cease all communications with law enforcement. He said he planned to interview the boy this morning before the court hearing.
Jeremy Pawloski: 360-754-5465
jpawloski@theolympian.com
