Official: Oso couple was shot before being buried in hills

EVERETT — An Oso couple was shot before their bodies were buried in the hills near their home, the Snohomish County Medical Examiner reported Thursday.

Monique Patenaude, 46, died from multiple gunshot wounds. Her husband, Patrick Shunn, 45, was killed by a gunshot wound to the head. Both deaths have been classified homicides, the medical examiner said.

Their bodies were recovered Tuesday from a grave off North Brooks Creek Road. The grave was not far from where the couple’s cars were found last month.

The pair were last seen alive April 11.

Snohomish County prosecutors believe their former neighbor, John Blaine Reed, killed the couple, likely over a boiling feud that seemed to worsen after the 2014 Oso mudslide.

John Reed, 53, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder. He remains wanted on a $5 million arrest warrant and is believed to be in Mexico.

John Reed and his brother, Tony Reed, 49, fled south of the border shortly after Shunn and Patenaude went missing.

Tony Reed surrendered last week and directed detectives to the grave. He, too, is charged with the killings. Tony Reed’s attorney said his client is innocent and returned to defend himself.

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