A Picturesque Murder House

Raymond, Washington, sits in Pacific County on the state's west coast, about two hours from Seattle and two and a half from Portland. It grew up around logging, fishing and the tide flats, and by 1913 it had six thousand people, more than it has today. Down a country road stood a bright red two-storey farmhouse on four acres, and by the end of 2003 it was the centre of the worst case in the county's history. Kathy Loreno grew up in Simi Valley, California. When she was nineteen, after her stepfather was killed in a car crash, she moved with her mother to Pacific County, Washington. She managed a national hairdressing chain but was too soft a salesperson to push conditioner, and when she lost the job she also lost her home and car. this part of the story is covered for now details of the account remain covered until revealed the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it Friends remembered him as handsome and popular, but after the marriage some described him as a nervous wreck who was always looking over his shoulder. this part of the story is covered for now People in Raymond called her Crazy Shelly. details of the account remain covered until revealed Her children later described systematic abuse: a daughter locked in closets and fed stale food, and children woken at night to crawl in mud before being beaten. the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it this part of the story is covered for now Kathy did, and became part of the family. details of the account remain covered until revealed the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it His grandmother said he had finally found the friend he had always wanted. this part of the story is covered for now They hit and slapped her and dragged her across the ground. They poisoned her, forced her to swallow salt and prescription medicines, and made her submit to treatments that included bleaching and salting her wounds. They made her live and work outdoors in harsh weather with little or no clothing until she became hypothermic, then forced her into cold water or mud. They starved her. By 1993 she had lost around a hundred pounds, her teeth and hair had fallen out, one side of her face drooped, and she could no longer walk or talk properly. Shane began secretly photographing Kathy's injuries in late 1992. details of the account remain covered until revealed Shane was severely beaten, and two weeks later he disappeared. the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it Nobody could find him. In early 1994 Kathy went job hunting at the mall with her friend Carolyn Barnum. this part of the story is covered for now details of the account remain covered until revealed It was the last time Carolyn saw her. Kathy's family could not reach her. the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it Kathy's mother reported her missing and placed advertisements with her picture in the Willapa Harbour Herald. The police treated it as an adult who had chosen to leave. this part of the story is covered for now Life at the farmhouse went on. details of the account remain covered until revealed In April 2000 she got a job with the Olympic Area Agency on Aging and was fired in June 2001 for poor performance. In 2002 an older man named Ronald Woodworth, known as Woody, moved in. Woody was in his mid-fifties, a Berkeley graduate and Egyptology enthusiast who had worked for the Air Force and had drifted into mental illness after his wife left him. He had been evicted from his mobile home in 1999. the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it this part of the story is covered for now Mac was a widower who got around in a motorised cart with his black Labrador, Sissy. He had had strokes and called for medical aid seventy times in four years. details of the account remain covered until revealed the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it On 9 February 2002 Mac fell at home. this part of the story is covered for now Mac died at the scene. The death certificate gave an acute subdural haematoma from blunt impact to the head, the medical examiner ruled the manner undetermined, and the case went to the Pacific County coroner. details of the account remain covered until revealed the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it this part of the story is covered for now Woody was last seen alive on 20 July 2003. details of the account remain covered until revealed the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it this part of the story is covered for now A second daughter gave an identical statement. details of the account remain covered until revealed A search found Sissy alive, along with five other dogs, four kittens, a rabbit and a bird. Sissy had never died. Investigators also found items belonging to the victims, a bloody pair of slippers and possible evidence of decomposition. the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it this part of the story is covered for now He then admitted that they had tortured her for years and that she died from the abuse. He said her body was burned in the backyard and the ashes scattered on a beach. He described Shane's death next: first a story about a struggle over a .22 rifle in the pole building, then the truth, that he had stood three feet away and shot Shane in the face to stop him talking. He also admitted burying Woody in the yard and led police to the grave, where the body was exhumed. details of the account remain covered until revealed The Pacific County sheriff, John Didion, a former New Orleans Saints lineman, had fourteen deputies for the whole county and said he knew nothing of the requests to investigate Mac's death. the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it Kathy's brother Jeffrey said the family had known since 1995 that Kathy was dead and that the police had done nothing. this part of the story is covered for now details of the account remain covered until revealed the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it this part of the story is covered for now Washington limited the range. details of the account remain covered until revealed the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it this part of the story is covered for now Kathy's and Shane's bodies were never found.