Murder suspect helping Washington state police find bodies of missing couple

One of the two brothers accused of killing a married couple in Washington state surrendered last week and is reportedly helping authorities find the victims’ bodies.

Tony Reed, 49, is accused of helping his older brother, John Reed, kill the couple sometime around April 11, Q13Fox.com reported. John Reed is believed to be on the run in Mexico.

Tony Reed’s attorney told the station that his client intends to prove his innocence.

“He wanted to come up and face the charges and thought it was the right thing to do,” James Kirkham, the attorney, said.

The assistance was welcomed news for authorities.

“He’s been helping detectives, yes, but we still have not recovered their bodies, so that’s something we hope will happen very soon,” Shari Ireton, a Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman, told Q13Fox.com. “The chances of being able to get to their exact location is much better than it was a week ago.”

On April 12, neighbors reported Monique Patenaude, 46, and her husband, Patrick Shunn, 45, missing when their livestock was left unattended.

Detectives concluded the couple had been killed after they searched the vehicles and the home near the couple's where John Reed recently lived.

Surveillance video linked the Reed brothers to the dumping of the couple's cars over an embankment north of Seattle, authorities said. Authorities have said they had no information about any issues between John Reed and Shunn and Patenaude but noted that others had described a property dispute between them.

Tony Reed has dozens of arrests and twice was under state supervision — from 1989 to 1991 on drug charges, and from 1994 to 2003 for three misdemeanors, one count of attempting to elude police and one count of third-degree assault.

John Reed has been cited for mostly minor offenses, including driving without a license and collecting wood without a permit. He served five years under supervision of the Department of Corrections in the late 1990s for attempting to elude police in Whatcom County.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.