OLALLA, Wash. — Kitsap County investigators believe a man broke into a home, shot a couple and stuffed their bodies into a trash can.
Deputies responding to a report of suspicious circumstances said they made a “gruesome discovery” on an Olalla property Thursday evening.
Deputies were dispatched to Shady Glen Avenue Southeast near Purdy Creek at about 5:15 p.m.
Minutes before, a woman went to the home to check on her parents and discovered that someone had broken into the house. She saw shattered glass and blood inside.
When she couldn’t find either of her parents, she called 911.
Court documents show that when deputies arrived, they “observed what appeared to be a deceased body in a garbage can.” Authorities eventually learned the bodies of both Mina and Steven Shulz were in that trash can.
Detectives believe the 51-year-old victims died from gunshot wounds.
The bodies of the couple were turned over to the Kitsap County Coroner’s Office.
On Saturday, deputies identified 40-year-old Shaun D. Rose as a suspect. They considered him armed and dangerous and believed he was hiding in Pierce County or the Tacoma area.
He was found on Sunday evening and multiple agencies were involved in his arrest, which officers described as a struggle.
Rose was first seen driving a white Buick in Mason County, but he later ditched that car and stole another in Pierce County, before ditching that one in Tacoma.
He then made his way to a gas station on South Tacoma Way where he was arrested.
The Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office says Rose will be booked into the Kitsap County Jail on a no-bail felony murder warrant.
“It’s huge,” said Kitsap County Sheriff Lt. Ken Dickinson. “This is a gruesome crime that happened in a rural small town of Olalla where that kind of crime doesn’t happen.”
Rose had his first court appearance on Aug. 23. He is pleading not guilty to both counts of aggravated murder. He is set to appear again in court on the morning of Sept. 13.
Anyone who has information about the deaths or saw anyone suspicious in the area is asked to contact Detective Jennifer Rice at 360-337-5616 or by email at kcsodetectives@kitsap.gov.
Those who wish to remain anonymous can submit a tip to www.CrimeStoppers.com or by using the P3Tips app.
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