Man pleads not guilty in killing of Washington state couple

EVERETT, Wash. — A man pleaded not guilty Monday after prosecutors said he killed a rural Washington state couple and buried their remains.

John Blaine Reed, 54, was arraigned in Everett and entered the pleas on two counts of aggravated murder and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm.

Former British Columbia resident Monique Patenaude, 46, and Patrick Shunn, 45, were shot April 11 near Oso, a small community northeast of Seattle that was the site of the nation’s worst landslide disaster in 2014.

Reed is accused of killing Patenaude and Shunn over a long-standing property feud. Authorities have said Reed was a former neighbour who shared a driveway with the couple.

After the slayings, Reed fled to Mexico with his 49-year-old brother Tony Reed with money and a vehicle from their parents, according to prosecutors.

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More than two months later, Mexican authorities arrested John Reed and turned him over to authorities in Arizona. He returned to Snohomish County Friday and was booked into jail. He is being held without bail.

Tony Reed previously turned himself in and led detectives to the couple’s gravesite in the woods near their home. He has pleaded guilty to two counts of rendering criminal assistance for helping hide the bodies.

Their mother, 77-year-old Faye Reed, pleaded not guilty on Friday to rendering criminal assistance. Their father, 81-year-old Clyde Reed, asked to delay his hearing on the same charge for another two weeks so he can hire his own attorney.

The Associated Press