EDITOR’S NOTE: An accusation that Ekaterina A. Parrish made that was reported in her mental health evaluation filed with the court has been removed from this story.
PORT ANGELES — A Sequim woman accused of trying to kill her two youngest sons by driving them down a steep embankment next to their house has been declared competent to stand trial.
Ekaterina A. Parrish, 45, remains in the Clallam County jail, where she has been since Dec. 13, 2022, in lieu of $1 million bail. A two- to three-week jury trial before Clallam County Superior Court Judge Lauren Erickson is scheduled for June 3, 2024. She was declared competent to stand trial on Oct. 20.
On Sept. 25, 2022, Clallam County Superior Court Judge Brent Basden ordered Parrish be admitted to a state Department of Social and Health Services treatment facility for up to 15 days for an evaluation of her competency.
Megan R. Kopkin, Ph.D. of Western State Hospital, licensed psychologist/forensic evaluator, submitted a report dated Oct. 11 based upon her two-hour and 20-minute evaluation conducted Oct. 10.
It states that Parrish is charged with two counts of attempted premeditated first-degree murder — domestic violence and position of trust, Class A felonies, both of which allegedly occurred on or about Nov. 29, 2022.
“Ms. Ekaterina Parrish meets diagnostic criteria for major depressive disorder,” the summary of opinions states. “At present, Ms. Parrish has the capacity to understand the nature of the proceedings against her and to assist in her defense.”
It also states: “An evaluation by a (designated crisis responder) is recommended out of an abundance of caution should Ms. Parrish’s custodial situation change.”
Parrish is accused of driving her car over a hill with her two sons, both juveniles, in the car. She was booked after her discharge from Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where she was treated for self-inflicted injuries to her wrists.
Clallam County Sheriff’s deputies investigated a 9-1-1 call of a one-vehicle rollover at 1:15 p.m. last Nov. 29 in the 200 block of Hillside Drive, according to the probable cause statement.
Two boys said they had been in a vehicle rollover and didn’t know where they were, the statement said. One of them told the dispatcher “his mother intentionally drove their car off the roadway and down a steep hill not meant for motor vehicular traffic to kill herself and kill them in the process,” the statement said.
The two reportedly had minor injuries.
According to the evaluation, Parrish married her first husband when she was 18 in 1996. They had a son the following year and divorced when the boy was about 15 months old.
“After her divorce, she moved back into her parents’ home and resided with them until she moved to Germany with her son in 2005,” the evaluation stated. “It was there she met her second husband through ‘mutual friends.’ She and her son moved to the United States in 2005 when she and her second husband married.
“Then she had two more sons. She asserted her children were ‘the best thing ever to happen to her.’ “
She reported she and her husband separated in 2020 and divorce proceedings were ongoing at the time of her arrest last November.
She indicated she had been supporting herself through court-ordered “spousal support.”
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Reporter Brian Gawley can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 55650, or at brian.gawley@ peninsuladailynews.com.
