An uncle of a 6-year-old autistic boy allegedly admitted he drowned the child while babysitting him in Washington on Tuesday, while the child stayed home from school with a mild illness.
The Seattle Times reports that Andrew Henckel, 19, of Kerrville, Texas, reportedly told detectives that he was taking care of his 8-year-old nephew, Dayvid Pakko, at the child’s Lynwood apartment home at the Bristol Square Apartments, on Tuesday afternoon. The suspect allegedly admitted that he filled a bathtub up with water with the intention of drowning his nephew.
According to court documents, Henckel allegedly confessed that after he filled the bathtub with water, he called Dayvid to bathroom. When the boy arrived, Henckel reportedly picked him up, then put him face down in the water “for approximately 30 seconds.”
Henckel allegedly said he held the boy’s head until he stopped moving and his body became still. Dayvid thrashed his feet around while trying to get loose, but Henckel said he immobilized the boy’s feet with his legs to stop the little boy from kicking.
That is building 6-yr old Dayvid Pakko lived. The dumpster next to it where his body found. Waiting on search warrants for both #Q13FOX pic.twitter.com/q2wxlpFIa0
— John Hopperstad (@JohnHopperstad) October 17, 2017
When a detective asked Henckel why he held his nephew’s head in water, the suspect reportedly said, “to kill him.” When they asked Henckel if he knew what happened when someone drowned, the teen said that their “lungs fill with water and they die.”
Detectives reported that Henckel said once the little boy died, he left him face-down in the tub for around six minutes. He then picked Dayvid up, wrapped him in a blanket, put him in a cardboard box, walked outside and tossed the boy into a nearby dumpster. Henckel told police he walked back inside, “lounged” on the couch and watched television until David’s mother and her boyfriend arrived home.
The mother’s boyfriend arrived back to the apartment at around 3 p.m. Henckel reportedly told the man that he took a nap and had no idea where Dayvid disappeared to.
Randy Henckel, the suspect’s father, told Q13Fox that his son met Dayvid for the first while they were in Lynnwood visiting family. The father said his son also has a form of autism.
Heartbreaking. At memorial, classmate of Dayvid Pakko wanted something big & strong to protect him so she brought stuffed elephant #Q13FOX pic.twitter.com/7L2SPD2u8w
— John Hopperstad (@JohnHopperstad) October 18, 2017
“They’re both autistic. And my daughter told me they both connected very naturally. That’s what I was told. I’ve been talking with them every day since, during the week that he’s been there, and there were zero problems……”My grandson’s been murdered. My autistic son, who would never hurt a fly, has been sequestered since last night by the police. Apparently, they evoked a confession from him. He had no lawyer present. No family present.”
Henckel appeared in court on Wednesday with attorney Rachel Forde, a Snohomish County public defender. The lawyer patted him on the back as he stood in front a judge. Forde asked the judge not to hold Henckel based on his statements. The suspect didn’t provide a motive for the incident.
“Please help me. I did not do this,” Henckel reportedly told his lawyer, according to the San Antonio Express.
Henckel’s father insinuated that Dayvid may have choked and that his son likely wouldn’t know what to in that situation.
“In an emergency situation, such as Dayvid choking, I don’t know that Andrew would know how to handle it,” Randy Henckel said.
Randy Henckel said his son told him he didn’t hurt Dayvid and claimed the boy was playing with Legos when he fell asleep; when he woke, Dayvid was gone.
The judge ordered Henckel to remain behind bars on a $1 million bail, despite Forde’s urging to lower it. The family has since retained a private lawyer.
Check back with CrimeOnline as additional details become available.
[Feature Photo: Handout]
