Video shows random attack on 75-year-old woman in downtown Seattle
A still image from police body camera video that shows the weapon used to assault a 75-year-old woman in downtown Seattle in December 2025. (SPD)
by Jeremy Harris, KOMO
SEATTLE — Newly-released videos show the moments a man attacked a woman at random outside the King County Courthouse in downtown Seattle earlier this month.
Fale Vaigalepa Pea, 42, was armed with a wooden board that had a screw through the end of it and used both hands to swing the weapon and strike the victim, 75-year-old Jeanette Marken, in the face, according to charges filed in King County Superior Court.
The hit gouged out Marken’s eye, and she just learned that she will not recover her eyesight in the affected eye, family members told KOMO News on Friday.
“To take a wood club with nails and hit her at full force in the face? I don’t understand it,” said Andrius Dyrikis, the victim’s son.
The video of the incident was recorded by the Seattle Police Real Time Crime Center. It shows a bystander taking a picture of the suspect, and then others begin tending to the wounded Marken. A King County Sheriff’s Office deputy comes running over from the main entrance to the courthouse, and witnesses directed him to the suspect who had walked northbound on Third Avenue.
The deputy detained Pea near the intersection of Third Avenue and Cherry Street and called for assistance from Seattle police.
Suspect was a ‘regular’ for police
Body camera video from the responding officers shows they almost immediately recognized Pea.
“Is that Fale Pea?” a Seattle police officer asks another.
“Yeah, you know him?
“He’s notorious for random assaults on Third,” the officer says.
As paramedics are loading Marken onto a stretcher and treating her injury, an EMT asks an officer about the suspect:
“Who is this guy?”
“He’s a regular. He usually punches. I guess today he decided to escalate from his usual.”
Still image from a Seattle police body camera video of suspect Fale Pea. (SPD)
Pea has been well known to law enforcement for years.
In 2011, he stabbed two people at a party in SeaTac. One of the victims was stabbed eight times, according to an arrest report from the incident.
Court records show he was convicted by a jury and received an 18-month sentence of community custody.
Pea continued to rack up assault charges, including one case in 2020, four cases in 2023, and one case in 2024.
According to the King County jail, Fale has been booked eight times this year, though Seattle Municipal Court and King County Superior Court records show none of his arrests this year resulted in charges prior to the assault on Marken. Seattle police have arrested Pea repeatedly this year for charges of assault, indecent exposure, drugs, property destruction, unlawful use of weapons, and malicious mischief.
The King County Prosecuting Attorneys told KOMO News that none of his prior arrest from this year were referred to their office for felony charges. The Seattle City Attorney’s Office, which handles misdemeanor offenses, did not immediately have information on case referrals for Pea.
He is now charged with assault in the first degree and is expected to appear for a competency hearing later this month.
“The defendant’s egregious actions in this case, as well as his prior assaultive criminal history, demonstrate that he is a substantial danger to the community and is likely to commit a violent offense,” prosecutors wrote in charging documents for the assault on Marken.
Victim’s family frustrated by suspect’s criminal past
News that the man accused of attacking his mother was a repeat offender is frustrating for Dyrikis.
“He’s a usual? A usual what?” Dyrikis said. “Attacking people? Civilians? What the hell is wrong with your system?”
Photo of assault victim Jeanette Marken (Family photo)
Marken was picking up a food order when she was assaulted.
“It’s not her responsibility to know, like, what parts are good, or what parts she shouldn’t walk there,” Dyrikissaid.
The area around the King County Courthouse has been problematic for years. The block where the attack happened is home to a homeless facility, and witnesses told police they recognized Pea from the shelter.
Earlier this year, three people were shot during a fight in the intersection. A man was shoved into a door and killed across the street in 2023.
“I want someone to at least say to my mom, ‘hey, we’re working on this, we’re fixing it,” Dyrikis said. “I want them to say, ‘we notice, hey, we’re working on it.”
A GoFundMe for Marken has raised nearly $30,000 to support her recovery.
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