Mom stabs 4-year-old son, leaves him to ‘slowly die’ in bath, Washington cops say
A woman stabbed her 4-year-old son and left him to “slowly die” in a bathtub at her apartment in Washington, prosecutors said.
The boy’s father called 911 at about 4:15 p.m. Oct. 16 to say the mother of his child tried to cut herself and had killed their son, the Seattle Police Department said in a probable cause document.
Police said they responded to the apartment and Joelene Rodriguez answered the door and said, “They made me do it! They made me do it!”
The 45-year-old woman was detained, police said.
Officers then discovered her son in a bathtub filled with bloody water and two knives nearby, police said.
An autopsy performed on the child’s body discovered multiple stab wounds, police said.
The doctor said the child, who was “autistic and non-verbal,” would not have died from the injuries quickly, police said.
“He estimated that (the boy) would have died within an hour which would have provided Joelene plenty of time to call for help and get her 4-year-old son medical attention,” the doctor said in court documents.
Rodriguez was charged with first-degree murder, and her bail was set at $5 million.
This story was originally published October 22, 2025 at 10:59 AM.
