-- From Times staff reporter Sara Jean Green:

King County Executive Kurt Triplett has ordered an inquest into the shooting death of James Slater Jr. by King County sheriff's Deputy Peter Cougan, who responded to a domestic-violence call at Slater's Woodinville home in July.

The inquest is scheduled to begin Jan. 4 before King County District Court Judge Janet Garrow and is expected to last three to four days, said Dan Donohoe, spokesman for King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg. Information revealed during an inquest is later reviewed by Satterberg's office to determine whether criminal charges are warranted, he said.

Deputy prosecuting attorney Roger Davidheiser has been assigned to assist the court in conducting its inquiry, Donohoe said. Attorneys representing Slater's widow, Cougan and the Sheriff's Office will also be involved in the proceedings.

Slater's wife, Laura Casablanca, called 911 on the Fourth of July after an argument with her husband turned physical. Deputies responded to their mobile home on Northeast Woodinville-Duvall Road and encountered Slater, 59, who was sitting on a wooden garden bench on a neighbor's property. Though he'd been armed with a carving knife and had cut his wrists, Slater left the knife on the bench as he approached Cougan, a four-year veteran of the Sheriff's Office.

Cougan opened fire after Slater, who ignored the deputy's commands, moved about 40 feet towards Cougan, sheriff's spokesman Sgt. John Urquhart told The Times in July. The deputy apparently thought Slater still had the knife, though it was later determined Slater was unarmed.

Urquhart said this week an internal investigation into the shooting is completed but officials won't release details until after the inquest. Cougan, 28, was placed on routine administrative leave following the shooting but has since returned to patrol duties, Urquhart said.

According to the King County charter, an "inquest shall be held to investigate the causes and circumstances of any death involving a member of the law enforcement agency of the county in the performance of his duties." An inquest is a public fact-finding hearing in which a six-member jury hears evidence and answers a series of questions about the causes and circumstances surrounding the death of someone either killed by a law enforcement officer or while in custody.