Marysville man charged with mother's murder after spending 3 years at psychiatric hospital
MARYSVILLE, Wash. - A Marysville man has officially been charged in connection to the 2020 murder of his own mother after spending the last three years of his life at a psychiatric hospital.
Nathan Wayne Granum, 32, is charged with second-degree murder with a firearm and domestic violence enhancement. He is accused of murdering his mother, 62-year-old Laura Granum, on June 25, 2020.
The murder was first reported by Nathan's younger brother, Jacob Granum, after he noticed he hadn't seen his mother all day and his brother was acting strange.
According to court documents, when Jacob went to throw out some garbage in the garage, Nathan was there by himself. He told Jacob he was working out and to go back inside.
After several hours, when Jacob returned to the garage, Nathan was still there, "acting nervous and sweating," prosecutors said. He told Jacob to go back inside because he was still working out.
When asked where their mother was, Nathan replied with, "Don't worry about it." At that point, Jacob became suspicious and armed himself with a pistol, as Nathan had attacked him in the past.
Jacob noticed his mother's car was parked strangely, and when he opened the trunk, he found his mother's body inside. He then immediately called 911.
It's believed Laura died from "some type of physical force," based on her wounds. Detectives noted multiple blood stains on Nathan's clothes and body, along with a bloody palm print on the trunk of the car that was consistent with Nathan.
According to court documents, Jacob said on the day of the murder, Laura said she was going to get paperwork in order to evict Nathan. Laura and Nathan had apparently been fighting for some time, and Nathan had some mental health issues.
During an interview with Nathan, detectives say he told them he had been hearing voices for years, telling him mean things and that he should kill his mother. He did not admit to the murder though, but instead said it was probably terrorists or hit men, claiming "they beat her to death and stomped on her."
Nathan also said he was mad at his mother for selling his late father's items, and for selling their family home, according to court documents. Nathan admitted he had been fighting with his mother over the last two days because she was trying to force him to move out, and also possibly getting a restraining order against him.
Nathan stated he had blood on him because he wiped his hands with a bloody rag, but did not know how it got on his face and ear, according to court documents.
On August 12, 2021, Nathan Garnum was deemed incompetent to stand trial and was later admitted to Western State Hospital.
On or about January 17, 2024, the State received notice from Western State Hospital that they intended to place Nathan Granum at Evans House, a less restrictive placement in Seattle. He was ultimately not placed at Evans House due to safety concerns.
On April 19, 2024, the State received further notice that the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) planned to discharge Granum to a behavioral health facility in Olympia. A little over a month later, the State said Granum's release date was updated to on or after June 27, 2024.
After reviewing materials provided by DSHS, the State believes refiling in this case is appropriate.
Granum's bail is set at $1 million, and he is scheduled to appear in court Friday afternoon.
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