A man from Washington is facing accusations of fatally strangling his parents with a belt in their residence. According to reports, when a relative spotted him, he expressed a peculiar wish to not “disturb them.”

Mick Carmichael, aged 35, is currently detained in King County jail, charged with two counts of second-degree murder following the deaths of his parents, 69-year-old Grace Carmichael and 68-year-old Gregory Carmichael. His arrest took place on Thursday evening, as per court records.

The investigation suggests that the family was gathered at their home on the 33700 block of 27th Place Southwest in Federal Way, a suburb south of Seattle, when an argument erupted between Wednesday and Thursday. During the altercation, Mick Carmichael allegedly used a belt to strangle his parents, an act that reportedly left him with injuries as well, according to local ABC affiliate KOMO reported. When Grace Carmichael failed to appear at work on Thursday morning, a concerned colleague reached out to Federal Way police for a welfare check.

Officers arrived at the residence, knocked on the door, and peered through the windows, but received no response and found nothing amiss. They subsequently contacted another family member, who agreed to visit the home to check on the couple.

Upon arrival, this family member reportedly witnessed Mick Carmichael leaving the scene.

When the other family member did come by, they allegedly saw Mick Carmichael walking away.

“Mick responded that Grace and Gregory were still sleeping and he did not want [family member] to disturb them,” an arrest report cited by the outlet states. The family member then entered the home and found the bodies of the victims, but the suspect was nowhere to be seen.

Police put out an alert for residents to be on the lookout for Mick Carmichael, and at about 5 p.m. on Thursday, an officer spotted him in a nearby park. He reportedly appeared to have dried blood on his hands, blood stains on his clothes, and cuts and bruises on his body.

The suspect was arrested, denying that he had talked to his parents the previous day and claiming ignorance as to how he had gotten his injuries, police said.

Court records reviewed by KOMO showed that the defendant has had several run-ins with the law. He allegedly slammed his mother’s head into a staircase and strangled his father during an argument in 2021, calling him “the devil.” He was also reportedly charged in 2015 with attacking his father.

Since 2009, 10 separate protection orders have been issued to protect the defendant’s parents – and five other people – from Carmichael in a total of four discrete cases, the TV station reported.