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<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Wednesday, November 19, 2008 Marysville man charged in fatal shooting of 6-year-old daughter By Diana Hefley Herald Writers MARYSVILLE -- A Marysville father has been charged in the shooting death of his 6-year-old daughter. Richard Peters, 42, was charged Tuesday with first-degree manslaughter with a deadly weapon. The criminal complaint was filed in Everett District Court. It alleges Peters recklessly caused the death of his daughter, Stormy. Prosecutors have until Dec. 5 to file felony charges in Snohomish County Superior Court. Peters is being held in Snohomish County Jail on $250,000 bail. He was arrested Sunday after Stormy was found with a gunshot wound to her head. The Quil Ceda Elementary School first-grader died early Monday at Seattle Children's hospital. Peters allegedly told investigators he accidentally shot his daughter while he was cleaning his .45-caliber Colt handgun at his rural home on the Tulalip Indian Reservation. He told detectives he'd been drinking and was intoxicated. He'd asked Stormy to retrieve the loaded gun from his nightstand. He told detectives that all of his children handle guns, including his youngest, a 3-year-old, according to a police affidavit file Monday in Everett District Court. He said Stormy was standing behind him when she handed him the weapon. He explained that he cleared the loaded magazine from the gun, pulled the trigger and the gun fired, police wrote in the affidavit. Stormy fell to the ground. Peters held his daughter in his arms. He told detectives he froze and was unable to give her CPR or call 911. Peters explained that his daughter may have been able to pull back the slide, loading a bullet into the chamber. He also told detectives he'd consumed multiple double shots of vodka and would have been too drunk to drive, according to the affidavit. Investigators noted that Peters appeared to have been drinking. Police found vodka in the house. Snohomish County sheriff's spokeswoman Rebecca Hover said Tuesday she didn't know if detectives requested that Peters' blood-alcohol level be tested. Peters' wife and two other children, 3 and 8, also were home at the time of the shooting. The children were removed from the home by state Child Protective Services workers, Hover said. Detectives continue to investigate the shooting. Reporter Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463 or hefley@heraldnet.com. READER COMMENTS Log in or register to post new comment | Log out we need to ENHANCE all "drug crimes" with a gun I am heartbroken as a parent over the news of yesterdays shooting of a six year old girl my her father who accidentally shot her and then was so distraught over his own stupidity in asking his six year old girl to go upstairs and get his gun so he could clean it - after he had consumed an amount of Vodka He couldn't even get off the floor to give her CPR. although it was probably such a devastating head shot that there was no hope of trying to administer first aid- we don't even need any new laws concerning this crime- that would only enrage the gun owners who are responsible and would never handle a gun while they had been drinking. Alcohol is a drug and it should be treated just as if he was using a so-called "illegal drug" such as marijuana. I haven't heard of such a tragic shooting like this since I read of a tragedy involving a stray bullet hitting a young girl in the face in a police raid on a home that was being busted in a marijuana growing operation. I say if you use a gun while intoxicated or "high" the penalty should be enhanced the laws are already on the books. if you shoot your friend in the face while on a hunting expedition after you have been drinking- that should be reported as a "drug crime"! darral good | Nov 19, 2008 11:12 am | 1 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal

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