 Peter James Wilson (right) was charged in the death of his stepdaughter. (CBC)
|
VANCOUVER — A B.C. man appeared in a Washington state court Monday morning after he was charged with first-degree murder in connection with the death Sunday of a five-year-old girl.
Police in Mason County, Wash., west of Seattle, arrived on scene at a home near Lake Cushman after receiving a frantic 911 call Sunday night.
Police said they found a five-year-old girl from Abbotsford, B.C., dead in the kitchen of her family's summer home. Her throat had been slashed, police said.
Peter James Wilson, 29, of Abbotsford, was charged in the death of his stepdaughter. Police found him sitting on a swing in the backyard of the home when they arrived at the home Sunday night.
“He was looking rather stoic,” said Mason County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Dean Byrd. “I’ve been doing police work for 37 years and never have I seen anything so horrific. It’s completely senseless.
“Five years old… how does a person make the decision to take the life of a five-year-old in an instant?” Byrd asked. “How do you just say ‘I think I’m going to kill her’?”
The girl's mother and another child were home at the time.
The murder has rocked the community, according to Byrd.
“It’s had an effect on investigators and the entire community even,” he said. “The people in our department and the community have the deepest sympathy for the family that’s had to endure this. Our prayers are with them.”
Lake Cushman is a man-made lake located in the Olympic Peninsula of Washington state. The mountainous region is a popular destination for campers.
