Pierce County Prosecutor Mark Lindquist charged Stanley Guidroz, 57, with manslaughter in the first degree for killing his 3-year-old son, Wallace Guidroz, in 1983. Wallace is currently being held in a Louisiana prison for the murder of his wife.  A warrant has been issued for Guidroz to return to Washington.

“This is another success for the Cold Case Unit,” said Prosecutor Mark Lindquist. “Justice matters, no matter how long it takes.”

On Jan. 10, 1983, Guidroz called Tacoma Police to report his son missing. Guidroz said he and his son fishing that day, and then went to Point Defiance Park. He claimed they met another family at the park, and believed that family had kidnapped Wallace. Police were unable to find the family that Guidroz described, and couldn’t tie Guidroz to the disappearance either. The case was eventually inactivated.

Guidroz left Washington State in 1984 and did not return.

In 2011, Detective Gene Miller of the Tacoma Police Department’s Cold Case Unit re-opened the investigation. During Miller’s initial review, he noted several inconsistencies in Guidroz’s account of the events from the day Wallace went missing. Miller learned that Guidroz had been arrested in Louisiana for his wife’s murder, so Miller traveled to Louisiana to interview him.

After providing several more versions of his original story, Guidroz admitted to killing Wallace. Guidroz said that after they went fishing, he took Wallace home to feed him. Wallace was fussing in his high chair, and Guidroz “just lost it.” He backhanded Wallace, which caused him to fall to the floor and hit his head. Since Wallace wasn’t moving, Guidroz said he “knew he was dead.” Guidroz drove Wallace to the Tacoma waterfront and buried him in a shallow grave before calling police to report Wallace missing. Guidroz told Miller that he was afraid of being labeled a “child killer” in prison.

Charges are only allegations and a person is presumed innocent unless he or she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.