I have exclusively published the uncensored video of a brutal, unprovoked attack on a 75-year-old woman in downtown Seattle by a trans homeless suspect with a long criminal record.
On Dec. 5, Janet Marken was walking near the King County Courthouse when a 42-year-old man suddenly struck her in the face with a wooden board fitted with a screw. The screw gouged her eye, causing catastrophic injury. Marken collapsed to the ground. She has permanently lost vision in one of her eyes.
The suspect just walked away from the scene and was later arrested.
Marken is an immigrant from Colombia and was delivering food at the time of the attack. Her family has launched a GoFundMe to support her.
The accused assailant is Fale Vaigalepa Pea, a man who identifies as a woman. Pea has been charged with felony first-degree assault. At his arraignment, a public defender referred to the defendant as “Miss Pea.”
Court records show Pea is a career criminal who has repeatedly avoided prosecution. In King County alone, Pea was arrested at least eight times this year on suspicion of crimes that include assault, unlawful use of weapons and property destruction. None of those arrests resulted in charges.
Pea was previously convicted at trial for a 2011 assault in which he stabbed two people. He received an 18-month prison sentence. Additional assault cases appear in court records from 2020, four separate cases in 2023, and another in 2024.
The video of the attack is graphic. Journalists must weigh the ethical responsibility of publishing such material. I believe that people should be able to see — if they choose — the reality of violent crime and the consequences of a system that repeatedly releases dangerous offenders back onto the streets.
