Judge dismisses murder charges in death of Bothell teen

EVERETT, Wash. (AP) — A Snohomish County Superior Court judge has dismissed murder charges for the second time in the killing of a Bothell teenager. The judge concluded Alan Edward Dean may never be mentally competent to stand trial. Breakthroughs in forensic genealogy led to Dean’s arrest in 2020 for the killing of Melissa Lee in 1993. Finding Dean didn’t have the capacity to understand the nature of the proceedings against him, judges twice ordered competency restoration treatment. In January, Western State Hospital doctors said he was ready for placement in an adult family home. The petition was approved in January. Prosecutors refiled criminal charges this month.