By Reporter staff
King County Sheriff’s detectives arrested a 15-year-old Burien girl April 10 in connection with the stabbing death of a 49-year-old Kent man at his Panther Lake-area home.
Detectives booked the girl into the Juvenile Detention Center at the King County Youth Services Center in Seattle on suspicion of second-degree murder, according to police.
On April 8, Sheriff’s deputies found the body of Noe Pena at his Panther Lake home just outside Kent city limits, according to a sheriff’s office media release. A co-worker had contacted deputies when Pena didn’t show up for work for three days. He had a single, fatal stab wound in the chest. Deputies found a knife near the body.
A fingerprint on the knife led detectives to the girl, who reportedly has had numerous contacts with police, including an arrest for prostitution. According to police records, the girl attends Tyee High School in SeaTac.
When interviewed by detectives, the girl told them she came to Pena’s house April 4 for a prearranged prostitution date. She was to be paid $120 for the encounter, according to court records.
The girl reportedly changed her mind about having sex sometime after arriving at the house, and an argument ensued. She admitted stabbing Pena with a steak knife and then leaving the house. She told detectives she later returned to remove evidence from Pena’s pockets.
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