SEATTLE — A Seattle man has been charged with murder in the death of a 14-year-old boy according to court documents and the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. Investigators say 27-year-old Khailil Graham did nothing to stop his partner from beating her 14-year-old son for three hours on January 30th. SPD said detectives responded to their home on 14th Avenue South near Jefferson Park and also said Denaya Young, the boy’s mother, admitted to beating the child with an extension cord.
Young is already charged with murder and pleaded not guilty.
Graham pleaded not guilty to all charges linked to the death of his stepson Thursday morning. A spokesperson for the King County Prosecutor said he’s facing murder and manslaughter charges. His bail is set at $1 million, and a judge ordered he have no contact with his partner, Denaya Young, if he was released.
Court documents detailed the horrifying beating. On January 30, Seattle Police responded to a South Seattle apartment. Denaya Young, the 14-year-old boy’s mother, called 911 and when officers responded, she told them she “went too far” during an hours-long beating of the teen for not doing his chores. First responders resuscitated the boy but he died shortly after arriving at Harborview Medical Center.
Casey McNerthneym, spokesperson for the Prosecutor’s office, says the allegations in this case make the charges warranted. “The length of time that this alleged abuse happened is certainly a factor. There was time to take different action and it didn’t happen and now we see the results of these criminal charges,” McNerthneym said.
According to court documents, Graham, the teen’s stepfather, was present during the beating but did nothing to stop it. He told officers he didn’t intervene because the child was not his and felt it wasn’t his place.
According to online records from South Carolina both Khailil Graham and Denaya Young were convicted of assault in Sumter, South Carolina in 2018 and served time in jail.
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