REDMOND, Wash. – A 36-year-old Spokane woman was charged with second-degree murder on Wednesday after she allegedly strangled her 15-month-old son and told her fiancé “I did what needed to be done” in Redmond on Saturday.
According to court documents, Tami Christianson has a long history of mental illness and prescription drug abuse, and her fiancé called the police after she threatened to kill the boy when he was 2 months old.
Charging documents released Wednesday show that Christianson and her fiancé went to her mother’s house in Redmond late last week because all involved were concerned about Christianson’s ability to care for the boy. While they were at the house Saturday afternoon, Christianson allegedly went in to where the boy was napping and choked him to death.
The boy’s father said he noticed something was wrong when Christianson came out of the room looking dazed. He said she told him “it’s done,” and followed up with “I did what needed to be done.” The boy’s father found him unresponsive in the room.
King County sheriff’s deputies said after they arrested Christianson and put her in the back of a patrol car, the boy’s father asked that she be let out so he could kill her.