Slain Edmonds woman, 66, identified; husband held on $1M bail

Published 5:10 pm Thursday, August 4, 2022

EDMONDS — An Edmonds woman who was killed last week has been identified.

John Shipley, 73, told police he killed his wife Susan, 66, because he was possessed by demons, police alleged.

Edmonds police arrested John Shipley for investigation of second-degree murder after the killing in the 23400 block of 94th Avenue West. He told a dispatcher he’d stabbed his wife, but the Snohomish County Medical Examiner’s Office later determined the wife died of asphyxia due to strangulation.

An online fundraiser for funeral expenses noted Susan Shipley was “kind to everyone, made friends with the grocery store clerk, gave of her time money and resources so selflessly.”

“To know Susan was to love her,” the fundraiser reads. “She had one of the biggest hearts and was always thinking of others above herself. If you needed anything, you knew you could count on Susan.”

The fundraiser had brought in over $15,000, as of Thursday.

On Thursday, John Shipley remained in the Snohomish County Jail with bail set at $1 million.