Following the identification of an abused Kent woman’s death as a homicide, prosecutors have charged the mother of the deceased, a 59-year-old woman, with murder.
Amending her original charges of two felony counts of domestic violence assault in the second degree, King County prosecutors charged 59-year-old Sepe Harrison George of Kent with murder in the second degree in the death of her daughter, Esther Arunong, 28, on Aug. 2.
Three months following the death of Arunong in Renton on April 29, 2024, the King County Medical Examiner’s Office released findings on June 17, identifying her death as a homicide.
Kent police arrested Arunong’s mother, George, the day prior to Arunong’s death, on April 28, 2024, after first responders arrived at the family’s shared apartment in Kent and discovered Arunong lying on the living room floor, with bruises and lacerations covering her body.
In an interview with police following her arrest, George admitted to beating Arunong “almost daily,” striking her with household objects, including a frying pan to the side of her head around two days prior “so hard it bent the pan handle,” according to an affidavit of probable cause.
After striking Arunong with the pan, Arunong began to act differently and refused to eat, George told police. George asked Arunong’s sister to call for an ambulance after Arunong’s condition continued to worsen.
In her interview with Kent police, George admitted “she probably took things too far but did not believe she did anything wrong,” according to the affidavit.
Dr. J. Matthew Lacy, Chief Medical Examiner of the King County Medical Examiner’s Office, performed Arunong’s autopsy following her death. He determined her cause of death as multiple blunt force injuries of the head, torso and extremities, resulting in multiple organ system failure.
Following the “new information” from investigators, prosecutors initiated a review of George’s charges in July 2024.
At the time of the May 1, 2024, filing of charges, the cause of Arunong’s death remained undetermined, and prosecutors charged George with two felony counts of domestic violence assault in the second degree.
On Aug. 2, prosecutors filed a motion to amend George’s charges from two counts of assault to a single count of murder in the second degree. Judge Elizabeth Berns granted the motion at a hearing, with George entering a provisional plea of not guilty to the murder charge.
George served as present in-custody at the Aug. 2 motion hearing — her bail remaining set at $250,000. An attorney from the King County Department of Public Defense serves as George’s legal representation.
As of August 2024, George faces a jury trial in King County Superior Court scheduled for Sept. 23, 2024.
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