Trial still set for man accused of killing Oso-area couple

EVERETT — A February trial still is planned for the man charged with killing an Oso couple in 2016.

John Reed appeared in Snohomish County Superior Court on Thursday. The case is on track for a February trial, Judge Bruce Weiss was told.

Reed is charged with aggravated murder in the gunshot killings of Patrick Shunn and Monique Patenaude. The husband and wife disappeared in April 2016 and were found buried in a makeshift grave several miles from their Oso-area home.

Everett defense attorney Phil Sayles told Weiss that work continues on Reed’s behalf. He’s awaiting results of ballistic analysis.

Weiss scheduled another hearing in early October to revisit the case status.

Thursday’s hearing was delayed over issues about Reed’s outfit. Weiss earlier had granted a defense motion that Reed not appear in court in the jail uniform typically worn by detainees. But Reed declined to dress in the clothes brought on his behalf.

Weiss said that won’t happen again. Reed no longer faces a possible death sentence and the reason for the extraordinary arrangement has passed, the judge said. If convicted, Reed faces life in prison.

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