Cordell Goosby: Belltown Shooting, Insanity Verdict, and Evelyn’s Law

Cordell Goosby is the man who shot and killed Eina Kwon, a 34-year-old pregnant restaurant owner, and wounded her husband in Seattle’s Belltown neighborhood on June 13, 2023. On March 20, 2026, a King County Superior Court entered a finding of not guilty by reason of insanity and committed him to a Washington state psychiatric hospital, where he can be held for up to the rest of his life.¹

The Belltown Shooting

Goosby, then 30, walked up to a car stopped at a red light at Fourth Avenue and Lenora Street on the afternoon of June 13, 2023, and opened fire. Inside were Eina Kwon, 32 weeks pregnant, and her husband Sung Kwon, 37. A police report described the attack as an “execution.” There had been no prior interaction between Goosby and the couple.²

Eina Kwon and her unborn daughter, whom the family had named Evelyn, both died at Harborview Medical Center. Sung Kwon survived his injuries.³

The weapon, a Smith & Wesson 9mm handgun, had been stolen from a Lakewood, Washington home in April 2021 and used in a 2021 drive-by shooting near Tacoma’s Lincoln High School. A Seattle officer found it under a parked car shortly after the Belltown attack. Goosby, a convicted felon barred from possessing firearms, told detectives he bought the pistol “on the streets.”⁴

Who Cordell Goosby Is

Goosby came to Seattle from Chicago and had prior criminal convictions in Illinois, including a weapons charge. He had no arrest history in Seattle, but police confirmed prior contacts with him related to mental health calls. Later reporting indicated that video showed Goosby had contact with police minutes before the shooting; the details of that encounter and why he was not detained have not been publicly explained.⁵

The Charges

Goosby was arrested the day of the shooting and held on $10 million bail. On June 29, 2023, he pleaded not guilty in King County Superior Court to one count of first-degree murder for Eina Kwon’s death and one count of first-degree attempted murder for the shooting of Sung Kwon.¹

No homicide charge was filed for the death of baby Evelyn. Under Washington’s “born alive” rule, a person can be charged with homicide only for the death of someone who was born alive. Prosecutors also considered a manslaughter charge for the baby’s death but concluded they could not prove Goosby knew Kwon was pregnant.⁶

Why He Was Found Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity

Both the defense and the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office retained forensic psychiatrists to evaluate Goosby’s mental state at the time of the shooting. The two experts, working independently, reached the same conclusion: Goosby was legally insane when he killed Eina Kwon. Under Washington law, legal insanity means the defendant could not understand the nature and quality of the act, or could not tell right from wrong, at the time of the offense.⁷

With both experts in agreement, prosecutors accepted the finding rather than take the case to trial. The office said it would have gone to trial if its own expert had found Goosby sane.⁸ On March 20, 2026, the court entered the not-guilty-by-reason-of-insanity finding on both counts.¹

Gabby Charlton, Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney and chair of the office’s Felony Competency and Forensic Mental Health Unit, addressed public concern about the outcome. “This does not mean that Mr. Goosby will be released to the streets, now, a week from now, or in the immediate future,” the office said. Prosecutors noted that some people found not guilty by reason of insanity in Washington homicide cases have remained confined in state hospitals since the 1970s.⁹

Where Goosby Goes Now

The ruling under Washington’s insanity commitment statute, RCW 10.77, means Goosby admitted committing the acts and agreed to commitment in a state psychiatric hospital in the custody of the Department of Social and Health Services. Patients in these cases are typically sent to Western State Hospital, Eastern State Hospital, or the Columbia/Cascade Units at Maple Lane Campus.¹⁰

Because first-degree murder carries a maximum sentence of life, Goosby’s commitment can last that long. State law bars hospitalizing an insanity acquittee any longer than the maximum possible sentence for the underlying offense.⁸

Any request for increased privileges, such as unescorted outings or eventual release, requires approval from the treatment team, the governor-appointed Public Safety Review Panel, prosecutors, and the King County Superior Court. Patients receive a mental condition evaluation every six months and readiness assessments every 90 days. To petition for conditional release, Goosby would have to prove to a court that he no longer presents a substantial danger to others. If a petition is denied, he cannot reapply for six months.¹⁰

“Evelyn’s Law” and the Push to Change the “Born Alive” Rule

The case renewed debate over the Washington rule that blocked any homicide charge for baby Evelyn. Sarah Davenport-Smith of the Human Life of Washington Policy Consortium called the outcome an “injustice.” Proponents of reform are pushing legislation they call “Evelyn’s Law,” which would recognize an unborn child as a victim in criminal homicide cases, and they note that at least 35 other states already have such laws.⁶

1
Northwest Asian Weekly. Insanity Plea Accepted in Killing of Eina Kwon
2
KOMO News. Seattle Man Pleads Not Guilty in Belltown Shooting
3
Fox 13 Seattle. Man Pleads Not Guilty in Fatal Shooting of Pregnant Woman in Seattle
4
The Seattle Times. Fatal Belltown Shooting Draws Focus on Seattle’s Illegal Market for Stolen Guns
5
ABC 33/40. Seattle Man Found Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity in Killing of Pregnant Woman
6
KOMO News. Controversial Verdict Sparks Debate Over Born Alive Rule
7
The Seattle Times. Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity: What This Controversial Verdict Means
8
KATU. Seattle Man Found Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity in Killing of Pregnant Woman
9
Fox 13 Seattle. Man Found Not Guilty in Killing of Pregnant Seattle Woman
10
Washington DSHS. Forensic Patients Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity