Teens arrested after sword attack

Two teenage boys were arrested Tuesday after what law enforcement describes as a drug-fueled crime spree during which they assaulted one boy’s mother with a sword and planned to eat her liver.

Spokane County sheriff’s deputies responded to an assault call on the 13300 block of East Mission Avenue at 1:20 a.m. where they found a beaten, bloody woman lying on her bed. A sword with a bent handle and two knives were nearby.

The woman, who’d been asleep through the assault, told deputies her 13-year-old son and his 14-year-old friend had likely used the sword to attack her. The handle was bent at a 45-degree angle, which the woman said was new damage, according to court records.

Deputies contacted the 14-year-old’s father, who thought his son was spending the night with his 13-year-old friend. Then he discovered his 2005 Dodge Durango and keys were missing, the Sheriff’s Office said.

It didn’t take long for deputies to find the Durango. While deputies were interviewing the father, a hit-and-run at 7800 E. Alki Ave. was reported. Deputies found the truck there, still running. One of the boys driving had struck the side of a mobile home and both teens had fled, according to a Sheriff’s Office news release.

While deputies were attempting to track them, the boys broke into a house near the 8900 block of East Boone Avenue in an attempt to hide, according to court records. The boys took turns throwing a hammer at walls, windows and doors, doing more than $2,000 in damage to the home, the documents say.

A Washington State Patrol trooper saw them running from the home, and a Sheriff’s Office dog tracked and caught the boys.

The 13-year-old told deputies his 14-year-old friend had tried to kill his mother with a sword after he’d taken some “blue pills.” According to court records, he’d previously gotten into an argument with her and persuaded his friend to beat her in the head with the sword. He added they’d intended to stab her with the kitchen knives, but she woke up and the teens fled.

The 14-year-old suspect admitted to trying to kill the woman, saying they’d planned to eat her liver then flee town, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

Both boys, neither of whom have a criminal history, are in Juvenile Detention. The 13-year-old faces charges of second-degree assault, stealing a motor vehicle, residential burglary and second-degree malicious mischief. The 14-year-old faces the same charges, plus an additional charge of hit-and-run.

It is the Spokesman-Review’s policy not to identify juveniles unless they are tried as adults.