State v. Dow

¶1 This case involves a challenge to the application of RCW 10.58.035, a statute concerning the corpus delicti rule. RCW 10.58.035 permits a lawfully obtained and otherwise admissible statement of a defendant to be admitted when independent proof of the crime is absent, the alleged victim is dead or incompetent to testify, and the defendant’s statement is found trustworthy based on a nonexclusive set of statutory factors that a trial court must consider. The State charged Keith Ian Dow with one count of first degree child molestation. The trial court found the alleged victim, a three-year-old…