Shannon Ayers, 58, was found gravely wounded in her Deer Park, Washington, home on January 18, 2022, and died the next morning at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center. Her husband, Dean Ayers, initially told deputies she had shot herself with a 9mm semiautomatic pistol he kept under his pillow, but his accounts to investigators changed and included conflicting statements about whether he had moved the gun. Forensic findings did not support a self-inflicted wound: the bullet entered the left side of Shannon’s head and exited the right, and the medical examiner concluded the 8 to 12 inch firing distance would have been extraordinarily difficult, if not impossible, for her to have inflicted on herself given she was right-handed.

Friends and family described the marriage as toxic and said Shannon was planning to leave and was not suicidal. Investigators ruled the death a homicide and charged Dean Ayers with second-degree murder.

Does anyone have information about Shannon, the neighborhood on North Perry Road, or the couple’s relationship that could shed light on what happened?