Posted on 01/27/2013 3:12:11 PM PST by llevrok
LYNNWOOD, Wash. - New information is coming to light about a man accused of hog-tying his 4-year-old stepdaughter and shooting her with a pellet gun.
The suspect, Stetson G. Tedder, 26, of Lynnwood bailed out of jail Saturday night after he was arrested Thursday on suspicion of second-degree assault on a child and unlawful imprisonment.
Court documents say the pain he inflicted on the girl was "the equivalent of that produced by torture."
Tedder's family now has confirmed to KOMO News that Tedder has a military past. He spent four years with the U.S. Air Force, and a photo taken in 2009 in South Carolina identifies a Stetson Tedder as a senior airman.
His relatives say they are shocked by the allegations of child abuse.
According to court documents, Tedder's 4-year-old stepdaughter was taken to the hospital on Jan. 13 after her grandmother noticed red marks all over her body - which at first she believed were chicken pox.
More than 36 red marks were found on the girl's body - but it turns out they weren't chicken pox.
Court documents go on to say the little girl told authorities that Tedder, on multiple occassions, would hog-tie her to a bed with zip ties and shoot her with a pellet gun as punishment.
Shari Ireton of the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office says investigators also believe that the little girl's sister was punished in the same way.
According to detectives, Tedder allegedly tortured his stepdaughter multiple times.
"They did find an AirSoft gun in the suspect's closet," says Ireton.
When questioned, investigators say, Tedder tried to blame the little girl's red marks on his son - but later changed his story.
"He did admit that he was the one who had used the gun to punish the child," says Ireton.
"Stetson knowingly inflicted bodily harm which by design caused pain as to the equivalent of that used by torture," a detective wrote in his probable cause report.
The girl told police that her mom left the house when Tedder was shooting at her with the gun because "she doesn't want to hear her cry," court documents say.
On another occasion, the girl said, Tedder tied her up after her room was messy and made her pick up her room with her teeth, court documents say.
Child Protective Services has since removed all four children from the home. Tedder is scheduled to appear in court early this week.
One can easliy speculate (and it's not hard) to think there is 1)an opportunity to besmirch the military and, 2)paint pellet guns with the present gun grab hysteria paint brush.
WA state ping
Comments following the news story on KOMO’s site find I am not the only one seeing the absurd link between the guy’s military past and the horrendous crime he is accused of.
This is old school yellow journalism.
Terrorist suspect.
Very insulting to all veterans - since when having been a servicemember have anything to do with being a sadistic child abuser?
He is a horrible person, as is the mom and I hope they both have a complete epiphany and fully understand the depravity of their actions and feel horrible about it the rest of their natural lives.
“The girl told police that her mom left the house when Tedder was shooting at her with the gun because “she doesn’t want to hear her cry,” court documents say. “
This infuriates me. Where is this “mother”? Why isn’t she in jail? Was she the one who bailed out this scum of a boyfriend?
WA state ping
WA state ping
Look to the media-government complex to look for, highlight, and maybe even invent a few exceptions to undermine the argument.
well, as we learned after Vietnam, any one who is or was in the military is crazy as a loon and a baby killer. (sarc)
I thought he had a military past......
They are referring to his military service as if it proves he’s got a history for being a criminal. That is sick.
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