Mother accused of killing son with kettlebell, then calling his father to say ‘we don’t have a son anymore’

A mother has been accused of killing her five-year-old son with a kettlebell before calling his father to say ‘we don’t have a son anymore.’

Cedar Mae Sarten, 43, was charged by detectives on Tuesday Seattle, Washington with the first-degree murder of her son Robert “Bodhi” Gagner-Sarten. She was charged, according to a Seattle medical facility the Fairbanks Police Department.

Sarten, who reportedly suffered from mental illness, is accused of attacking her son with a 20-pound weight, crushing his skull, an autopsy shows.

His lifeless body also suffered knife wounds, the autopsy report said.

This is evident from a criminal complaint obtained by Law and crimeSarten reportedly called Robert’s father, Robert Gagner, and left a voicemail saying, “Robert, this is really bad, you really need to come here now.”

“Please don’t panic. We no longer have a son.”

She then allegedly cut herself with a knife before police arrived on the scene and took her to hospital.

The horrific incident occurred around 10 a.m. on October 14 when Fairbanks emergency services received a 911 call from Cedar Mae Sarten. who called from her 10th Avenue apartment to report that “someone had harmed her son and he was definitely dead.”

She told police that she last saw her son alive between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m., when he had fallen asleep, and insisted that she had called 911 the night before but had been unable to reach an operator.

When the first responding officer entered her apartment, five-year-old Robert was found dead on the bed with a bloody knife next to him, and a second knife and the kettlebell were used to crush his head on the floor.

Police emphasized that “a significant amount of blood” had been found throughout the apartment.

According to Fairbanks police, the 43-year-old was convicted of child endangerment for previously harming her son during a violent attack at Fairbanks Memorial Hospital in July 2020. She had “grabbed and twisted his head” when her son was nearby. 16 months old.

Sarten reportedly has a history of twenty arrests, including for theft, assault, criminal mischief, as well as the reckless conviction for endangering her son.

In one GoFundMe set up by family and friends for Bodhi, loved ones described him as the “sweetest” and “most kind-hearted, loving little boy” who “absolutely loved cheese pizza (his most favorite food in the world) and mozzarella sticks.”

The five-year-old’s body will be buried in the village of Ruby, a spot overlooking the picturesque Yukon River where his grandfather was also buried.

His father Robert Gagner is said to be devastated by the loss of his son, who had joint custody.

Sarten is being held at the King County Correctional Facility Washington on a $2 million dollar bond, according to jail records.

Fairbanks PD said, “We would like to thank the Fairbanks Fire Department for their assistance during this incident, as well as the Crisis Now Mobile Crisis Team for supporting the victim’s family members following this tragic event.”

Police urged anyone with information to contact Detective Robert Hall at [email protected] or 907-450-6500.