(WSB photo, early Sunday)
“The facts of this case are terrifying.” That’s how the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office opens the charging-document summary for 29-year-old Ethan McConaghy, charged with first-degree burglary and fourth-degree assault, accused of breaking into a home near 48th/Charlestown early Sunday morning and attacking the family who lives there. (Here’s our original report.) Even more than the narrative in the charging document, that assessment is borne out by the family telling their story in their own words – including their children’s bravery. Here’s what they sent:
It was around 6:45 am and my husband and I had just woken up when we were startled by the sound of breaking glass. Thinking that our china cabinet shelves had collapsed, we went downstairs and were confronted by an intruder entering the house via our broken dining room window. We demanded he leave our house but he didn’t respond and instead, came at us. My husband stopped him physically and they began to wrestle. I yelled for our children to call 911.
I proceeded to help my husband by opening the door so he could force the intruder outside. Once out, he was again told to leave. He ignored us and came at my husband again; they wrestled, moving onto the lawn while I called out for help. The man then ducked out of his shirt and jacket, allowing him to elude my husband and run at me while I was standing in the doorway. I defended myself but was ultimately dragged down the front steps to the lawn. The man then ran back into the house; he made it to the foot of the stairs before my husband caught up with him.
I had followed my husband inside and we tried to hold the intruder back, but he was able to struggle up the stairs. He then managed to break free and enter our younger daughter’s room, but he came back out immediately. She was not there because she had locked herself in our bedroom and was on the phone with 911. He then broke down the door to our bedroom and rushed our daughter, knocking the phone out of her hand. At that point, my husband was able to stop him by jumping on top of him. I grabbed our daughter and took her downstairs, yelling to our older daughter to call 911 and that we needed to leave immediately. When we caught up with her, she was on the phone with 911, and we were all able to get out of the house together.
Our children ran for safety while I ran to the neighbor’s house to get help. When I returned to our house with my neighbor, my husband had the man pinned down. I then left to locate our daughters. While I was looking for them, the police arrived, and I directed them to the scene. Our daughters had hidden themselves safely out of sight and were soon found by the police. Eventually, the police brought the man out of our house, and he was taken away in their custody.
We appreciate the help and kindness of our neighbors and the police response. We are proud of our daughters. They reacted quickly and effectively; they got the police to our house, took care of each other, and found safety. My daughters and I are in awe of how my husband handled the situation. Through this ordeal, we are closer as a family. We can only hope that as we heal mentally and physically from this experience, the person who caused this trauma is also getting the help he needs so we all can grow from this terrible experience.
The suspect remains in the King County Jail, held in lieu of $50,000 bail. The charging documents list his “last known address” as several blocks south of the crime scene; the family had never seen him before. His only listed prior conviction is for DUI, 13 years ago; he also has a recent DUI case that is not yet resolved.
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