Selah Man Facing Fraud Charges Related to Death of 4-Yr-Old Son

A 33-year-old Selah man is facing fraud charges, and a coroner's report confirms remains found not far from town are those of his son.

   The man continued to receive benefits meant for children.

 The incident began on April 16th.of this year when Selah Police paid a welfare visit and check on a four-year-old child that family members said they had not seen in nearly a year.

Preston Funderburgh, the boy's father, was arrested April 17th for fraud in connection with the death of Alaric "AJ" Funderburgh, said Police. The welfare check came about after a friend of the boy's grandparents said they hadn't seen him in a year. The father told Police the boy was living with the grandparents because his home was infested with bed bugs. However, the grandparents disputed that story.

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When questioned April 17th Funderburgh admitted to Police he found Alaric dead in his bed on December 2nd of 2024, and in a panic over possibly losing his other children, he buried the boy on a rural stretch of Cowiche Mill Road, about 13 miles west of Selah. He directed Officers to the gravesite.

Court papers indicate the boy suffered from a heart ailment referred to as a "hole in his heart,"  A forensic report performed by the King County Coroner confirmed the boy's identity. The cause of death still has to be determined.

Police said Funderburgh kept Social Security benefits meant for AJ and a sibling for a number of months after their mother died some time ago, and kept more benefits after AJ died in December.  The fraud was found by a Social Security investigator.

He is facing more hearings for the Social Security fraud, and he has a prior 3rd Degree theft conviction for theft in Benton County in 2017.