Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Mistrial in death of officer’s daughter

3-year-old son shot older sister with dad’s .38-caliber revolver

Marysville, Wash., police Officer Derek Carlile hugs his wife, Forrest, after a mistrial was declared Tuesday in Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett. (Associated Press)

EVERETT – A mistrial has been declared in the case of a Marysville police officer who was charged with manslaughter after his 3-year-old son shot and killed one of the officer’s other children after finding a gun in the family van.

Derek Carlile is accused of leaving a loaded .38-caliber revolver in a cubbyhole in the van, then getting out and leaving his four young children inside. Investigators say the 3-year-old grabbed the gun and fatally shot his 7-year-old sister.

On Tuesday, the jury was declared hung.

Prosecutor Lisa Paul said, “No reasonable person would leave a loaded, unsecured gun in a van with four children.”

Defense lawyer David Allen told the jury that the shooting was a tragic mistake.

Carlile will be retried in January.