LYNNWOOD, Wash. - A 19-year-old man admitted to drowning a 6-year-old Washington state boy with autism and leaving his body in a dumpster, officials said Tuesday.
The suspect, from Kerville, Texas, but believed to be a family member, was booked into the Snohomish County Jail for first-degree
Dayvid Pakko
murder. He is not being identified because he has not been formally charged with a crime.
The body of Dayvid Pakko was found early Tuesday at the apartment complex where the boy's family lived in the 15700 block of 44th Ave. W in Lynnwood, Washington, according to the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Department.
During questioning, the unidentified suspect admitted to filling a bathtub and holding the child under the water, according to authorities. After several minutes, the 19-year-old allegedly changed his clothes, wrapped Dayvid in a blanket and placed him in a cardboard box which he took to the dumpster.
The official cause of death is still pending.
Ireton said investigators would be processing evidence at the scene for at least another 24 hours.
Detectives, Search and Rescue personnel and volunteers began the search Monday night for the 6-year-old boy with mild autism.
Dayvid was last seen in his apartment around 2:30 p.m. Monday and was reported missing at 5 p.m., Ireton said. There was an adult inside the apartment at the time.
More than 40 volunteers helped with the search.
Ireton had asked people who live in the area to turn on their outside lights and look to see if the boy might be hiding in their bushes or around their home.
Neighbors who helped search for the boy say they are also looking for answers.
"I don’t want to ever feel what I am feeling again because it's horrible what’s happened," said neighbor Anthony Micallef.
Outside Beverly Elementary staff members put a message of mourning on the announcement board.
A memorial of flowers and candles has been growing outside of the Bristol Square apartment complex.
