On a tragic day in March of 2001, the life of 17-year-old Taelor Marks, a White/Caucasian male, was brutally cut short. On March 8th, he, along with his girlfriend Josie Peterson, also 17, and his grandparents, Richard and Leola Larson, were found murdered in his grandparents' home in Des Moines, Washington. The scene discovered by authorities was described as one of the most horrific in the county's history.
The investigation into the quadruple homicide quickly focused on a singular
suspect: Leemah Carneh, who was 19 at the time. It was revealed that Carneh had an obsession with Josie Peterson. Investigators believe that Carneh meticulously planned the attack. He first killed Taelor's grandparents and concealed their bodies. He then lay in wait for Taelor and Josie to arrive at the house, at which point he murdered them as well. Taelor and his grandparents were shot, while Josie was beaten and stabbed.
Leemah Carneh was arrested two days after the discovery of the bodies and charged with four counts of aggravated first-degree murder. The legal proceedings that followed were long and complex, largely due to Carneh's mental state. He was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, and for a period, was deemed incompetent to stand trial. This led to the dismissal of the initial charges in 2005, and Carneh was committed to a state hospital. However, after years of treatment and further evaluations, he was eventually found competent to face the charges. In March of 2013, Leemah Carneh pleaded guilty to the four counts of aggravated murder and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
