Long Beach teen stabbed, mother charged
Published 9:14 pm Sunday, March 22, 2026
LONG BEACH — A mother has been charged in the Pacific County Superior Court after she allegedly threw a knife at her 13-year-old son resulting in him needing stitches. An arrest warrant has been issued against her for second-degree assault.
The Long Beach Police Department was dispatched to the Ocean Beach Hospital on Feb. 6 at 11:30 p.m. after the hospital reported a 13-year-old showed up with a stab wound to his left side.
The boy arrived with his mother, Sara A. Martin-Washo, 54, who was the one who allegedly chucked the knife at him after she became frustrated with his behavior.
“[A nurse] explained to us that the young boy came in with a puncture wound to his left side and they were waiting for more scans to come in to see what the [extent] of the injury was,” LBPD Officer Chris Walkowiak said in court documents.
‘Loud and obnoxious’
According to court documents, upon Walkowiak’s arrival the mom was with the teen in the emergency room. Walkowiak met with her in another room, and she explained what had occurred resulting in the incident.
“Sara states that [the teen] was being loud and obnoxious and would not calm down,” Walkowiak said in court documents. “[The teen] was agitating Sara and so she grabbed the knife that was in its sheath and threw it at him. She did not know at the time that the knife had [come] through the sheath and stabbed [the teen] until he stated that he was bleeding.”
Martin-Washo told Walkowiak that as the knife — identified as a “pretty sharp” kitchen knife — hit the teen, the blade went through the sheath and caused the teen’s wound.
“[The teen] stated that the knife was still in the sheath when it hit him and that it didn’t come off,” Walkowiak said in court documents. “The knife came through the [sheath] when it impacted him.
“After it impacted him, [the teen] looked and found himself to be bleeding, so Sara grabbed the knife from the floor to check it and found that it indeed had cut through the sheath,” Walkowiak added.
According to court documents, the teen has Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and regularly agitates Martin-Washo. It also wasn’t the first time that she snapped at the teen.
“Previous to me being in the room, Deputy [Cory] Nacnac explained to me that [the teen] showed him one of his fingers where he had been previously cut by Sara and had got a good chunk cut out,” Walkowiak said in court documents. “At the time, both Sara and [the teen’s] stories lined up with each other.”
Walkowiak reportedly spoke with Child Protective Services (CPS) and was told that an investigator would be contacting the family within a few days. The officers opted to not arrest Martin-Washo at the time and noted “[the teen] was showing no fear of going home with her and advised he still felt safe at home.”
Not life threatening
According to court documents, the teen’s wound required three internal stitches and six external stitches, and he did not sustain any life-threatening injuries.
“I also explained that it did not seem like there was any ill-will towards [the teen] and she [was not] making an attempt to stab him but also that it was stupid to throw a knife at a child or anyone, sheathed or unsheathed,” Walkowiak said in court documents.
Walkowiak and Nacnac seized evidence at the hospital and also acquired permission to seize additional evidence from their residence. The units reportedly discovered signs of blood splatter at the scene.
“Once we saw [the] knife it was confirmed that the knife was sheathed and did cut through the top of it,” Walkowiak said in court documents. “The knife was a good size, roughly four-five inches long and a little over an inch wide. The knife and shirt were bagged up at the residence and I brought [it] back to the office to enter into evidence if needed at a later time.”
“[The teen] was still in good spirits at the time and had been all night. Sara also did not show much emotion but did laugh and smile here and there. There was no emotion of showing any sadness towards what happened or remorse,” Walkowiak added.
CPS steps in
The following day on Feb. 7 the teen was taken into protective custody by CPS with the assistance of LBPD Deputy Chief Casey Meling and Officer Eric Cowsert. The officers left Walkowiak a summary of what occurred.
“[CPS] attempted to establish some sort of safety plan for [the teen] but Sara refused to work with [them],” Walkowiak said in court documents. “She would not take [the teen] to Seattle to be with his father and there was also no one else around to come check on him over the weekend.”
“Sara disclosed to [CPS] that she throws things at [the teen] on a weekly basis when he is acting up. She does this when he comes at her acting hyper. [The teen] told [CPS] that he feels safe 60% of the time and not safe 40% of the time and that is when [the teen] aggravates [Martin-Washo.”
According to Meling, Martin-Washo was nearly emotionless about these events.
“Sara told Chief Deputy Meling that they could even take her to jail if they needed to, and that she would take a nap there,” Walkowiak said in court documents. “From the impression of these officers, Sara had no problem with throwing things at [the teen] and she wanted to make no plan to help keep [the teen] safe.”
“[The teen] was asked where Sara keeps the knife and he explained by the front door, and this was used to threaten him,” Walkowiak added.
According to court documents, the Pacific County Prosecutor’s Office filed one count of second-degree assault with a deadly weapon against Martin-Washo on March 19 in Pacific County Superior Court. Judge Donald J. Richter issued a $100,000 warrant for her arrest.