A 4-year-old boy who was fatally stabbed last week at a Seattle apartment did not die quickly, according to King County prosecutors who charged his mother with first-degree murder domestic violence on Tuesday.

The boy, who was autistic and nonverbal, suffered deliberate injuries to his Achilles tendon and right hand before his mother allegedly stabbed him in the chest with a chef’s knife, a wound that prosecutors said was not immediately fatal. A forensic pathologist told investigators the boy would have died within an hour, plenty of time for his mother to summon medical help, according to the charges.

The charges against the mother, Joelene Rodriguez, who is also known as Joelene Evans, allege that her son was particularly vulnerable or incapable of resistance and that her conduct mani

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