PORT ORCHARD, Wash. – The teenager accused of sexually assaulting and killing a 6-year-old Washington girl has been charged with aggravated murder and aggravated rape.
If convicted of the murder charge, Gabriel Gaeta would face life in prison without the possibility of parole. The 17-year-old was charged as an adult Friday in Kitsap County Superior Court.
Prosecutor Russ Hauge told The Kitsap Sun he's still waiting for the results of an evaluation of Gaeta's competency to stand trial.
Gaeta has been held on $1 million bail since his arrest Aug. 9. Two days earlier, Jenise Wright's body was found in the woods near her Bremerton home after an intensive search involving hundreds of law enforcement officers and others.
Authorities say they linked evidence found near the girl's body to the DNA of Gaeta, a student with no criminal history.
