Crime Junkie Podcast Summary
Episode: MURDERED: Patrick Shunn & Monique Patenaude
Host: Ashley Flowers, with Britt Prawat
Original Air Date: December 1, 2025
Main Theme:
A deeply detailed exploration of the 2016 disappearance and murder of married couple Patrick Shunn and Monique Patenaude in Oso, Washington, entangling a chilling neighborly dispute, clues buried in everyday details, a multi-state manhunt, and the relentless pursuit of justice. The episode draws out how “details matter, and the truth never dies.”
Episode Overview
Ashley and Britt present an ad-free, full-length bonus episode for non-fan club listeners, recounting the double homicide of Patrick and Monique with their trademark mix of suspense, empathy, and methodical narrative style. The case is used to show the relentless, detail-oriented process of a major crimes unit, from missing persons report to solved murder, with a focus on how even the tiniest clues can break a case open.
Key Discussion Points & Episode Timeline
The Disappearance & Early Red Flags
[02:23]
- Patrick and Monique fail to show for an Iron Maiden concert with neighbors Mike and Suzanne, raising suspicions.
- Mike finds their dog Cairo loose, which is highly unusual.
- Mike calls Patrick’s work, learns he is a no-show there too.
- Initial welfare check by police yields missing cars but no couple.
Quote:
"Mike can just like, feel whatever this is in his bones ... so much so that he told the deputy he actually grabbed the SD card out of Patrick's trail camera..."
—Ashley Flowers ([05:16])
Cell Phone Data & The Oso Landslide
[05:39]
- Expedited cell data requests reveal both phones stop transmitting at 8:32am, April 12.
- Patterns show the couple returned home but then left at 3:26am, driving up an abandoned logging road, close to where a catastrophic landslide happened two years prior.
Quote:
"There is nothing there, certainly not at 3 o' clock or 3:30 in the morning."
—Ashley Flowers ([07:56])
- Read receipts on their phones indicate messages are seen, but no responses—a sign someone else might have the phones.
The Search and Evidence Discovery
[09:18]
- Aerial search on April 14 uncovers Patrick's missing Land Rover, deliberately hidden, nose down, then Monique's Jeep 268 feet below, both pushed off a cliff.
Quote:
"So both cars look as though someone pushed them over the upper cliff's edge and just, like, let them tumble down like a game of Hot Wheels or dominoes or something."
—Ashley Flowers ([11:15])
The Crime Scene in Vehicles
[13:33]
- No bodies in either car, but rope, tarps, plastic sheeting, towels, spent shell casings, blood, Monique’s wallet, and a bloody shopping list.
- Receipts and items verify Monique’s movements, implying she never made it into her home after running errands.
Quote:
"All that stuff still being in her car means she likely never made it back inside her house…"
—Britt ([14:42])
Focus on Neighbor John Reed
[15:50]
- Interviews point to a feud with neighbor John Reed over property access and trespassing after the landslide.
- John unlawfully accesses a property he'd been paid by FEMA to vacate; disputes escalate with police called multiple times.
Quote:
"There is one name that almost everyone mentions ... John Reed."
—Ashley Flowers ([15:13])
Early Suspicions: Sightings, Video, and Bunkers
[17:55]
- Neighbor Suzanne sees John and brother Tony Reed leaving the scene, hauling distinctive items matching those found with the abandoned vehicles.
- Home security cams catch Patrick and Monique’s vehicles at 3:31am, John Reed’s red truck six hours later with the telltale 4x4 post.
Quote:
"From that moment forward, the hunt for John and Tony Reed was, quote, on like Donkey Kong..."
—Ashley Flowers, quoting Det. Fontenot ([20:09])
- John’s property yields shell casings, camo tarp, zip ties, secret bunkers (former grow rooms for marijuana), and clothes soaked in diesel.
The House Search & Tiny But Telling Clues
[22:00]
Patrick and Monique’s home is untouched, but relatives note:
- Patrick’s computer is missing.
- The wrong cat bowl is out—a detail initially dismissed but later pivotal.
Quote:
"The details matter."
—Ashley & Britt ([22:57])
Manhunt & Breakthroughs
[23:39]
- John and Tony flee, traced by car and bank receipts.
- Surveillance footage puts them at a 7-Eleven around the time of the crime, wearing the same diesel-soaked clothes found later.
- They escape to Phoenix, then Mexico; phones go dark.
Quote:
"Now all authorities can do is hope for a sighting or another license plate catch. Or for the brothers' phones to come back online. Or something even better. And something even better happens on day 35."
—Ashley Flowers ([25:09])
Tony Reed’s Surrender and Confession
[27:09]
- Tony’s lawyer arranges surrender in exchange for taking death penalty off the table.
- Tony confesses: John killed the couple, Tony hid the bodies and covered their tracks, providing key details that let investigators recover cell phones, wallet, computer, and trail cam.
- The wrong cat bowl? John fed the cat after the killings, grabbing the wrong one.
- Family describes John as “disorganized”—no drugs, money, or sexual motive, just rage and collapse under pressure.
Quote:
"He's the one that talked me into turning myself in, because if something was to happen to me over this, he would not be able to live with himself."
—Tony Reed ([28:46])
The Recovery & Familial Remembrance
[33:33]
- Tony leads police to remains: Patrick and Monique, together in a grave, appearing to ‘cuddle’ even in death.
- Emotional closure but not healing for their families, who later get tattoos to commemorate their loved ones.
Quote:
"[Their loved ones] said ... after they saw the crime scene photos, ... it looked like they were cuddling when they were found. And while they can never unsee that image, ... it actually brought them some peace to know that they were together till the very end."
—Ashley Flowers ([34:31])
Media Tactic: Misleading the News
[35:35]
Detective Dave Bilyeu scatters sticks and tarps as decoys to draw news camera attention away from the grave recovery.
Quote:
"This was a tactic that Detective Dave Bilyeu used to make the news camera focus on something besides the bodies."
—Ashley Flowers ([35:35])
Forensics, Arrest, and Prosecution
[41:07]
- John Reed, arrested in Mexico, refuses to talk; he goes to trial claiming self-defense.
- Digital and health app data on Patrick and Monique’s phones, plus timeline analysis, destroy the self-defense claim.
- John convicted of aggravated first-degree murder (Patrick) and second-degree murder (Monique), sentenced to life.
- Tony, proven not present at the murders, pleads only to assisting in the crime.
- Reed parents are convicted for aiding fugitives but serve minimal time.
Quote:
"You are never guaranteed a slam dunk case, but man, like, when the investigation is done right, it is good to see, yes, everything is buttoned up."
—Ashley Flowers ([43:14])
Reflections, Motive, and Legacy
[45:05]
- Hosts discuss the unfathomable escalation from neighbor disputes to murder, with detective insight that this was a rare instance of homicide erupting from pure personality and simmering animosity.
- Family and detectives commemorate Patrick and Monique; reminder that even the subtlest clues (the “wrong cat bowl”) can turn a case.
Quote:
"The tiniest of details that you gather along the way might be what puts the killer behind bars."
—Ashley Flowers ([47:53])
Notable Quotes & Moments
- “The details matter, and the truth never dies.” —Ashley Flowers ([02:55] & throughout)
- “There is one name that almost everyone mentions...John Reed.” —Ashley Flowers ([15:13])
- “Stay stupid, criminals.” —Britt ([32:31])
- “...It pays to never give up and the tiniest of details that you gather along the way might be what puts the killer behind bars.” —Ashley Flowers ([47:53])
Final Reflection
Ashley and Britt illuminate how a tragic crime in rural Washington was cracked open by the perseverance of detectives, the loyalty of friends, the devotion of family, and the principle that in any mystery, the smallest detail can bring the whole truth into focus.
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