Brother in rural WA killings pleads guilty

SEATTLE (AP) - One of two brothers who had been charged with killing a rural Washington state couple and burying their remains has pleaded guilty to two counts of felony rendering criminal assistance.

Murder charges against Tony Clyde Reed were dropped after authorities learned Reed was not there when Monique Patenaude and her husband, Patrick Shunn, were killed in April. Reed entered the pleas Friday in a deal includes a sentencing range of 12 to 14 months.

Investigators believe Reed's brother, John Reed, fatally shot the couple over a long-standing property dispute in Oso, a rural community northeast of Seattle.

Police say the brothers fled to Mexico after the slayings with assistance from their parents, who were arrested earlier this week. Tony Reed turned himself in at the U.S.-Mexico border and led authorities to the couple's grave.

John Reed remains at large.