Jessyca Hohn, a 38-year-old White woman, was a bubbly and kind-hearted single mother to a teenage son. Friends and colleagues at the Stars Bar & Grill in Federal Way, Washington, where she worked as a bartender, remembered her as a happy and selfless hard worker who loved to dance and dress up, often wearing matching outfits with her best friend and coworker, Katie Duhnke.
On the night of May 21, 2023, Hohn and Duhnke were working a shift at the bar.
The evening took a dark turn after a customer alerted the two women that another patron, Samuel Ramirez Jr., was carrying a firearm inside the establishment. Concerned for everyone's safety, Hohn and Duhnke confronted Ramirez about the weapon. The dispute escalated and continued outside in the bar’s parking lot after closing time.
In the parking lot, Ramirez allegedly struck one of the women. A male customer who witnessed the assault intervened, tackling Ramirez to the ground. The customer held Ramirez down until Ramirez said he was done fighting. Believing the altercation was over, the man let him up. At that point, Ramirez allegedly pulled out a handgun. Prosecutors say he shot and killed Katie Duhnke first, then fired multiple shots into Jessyca Hohn’s back. He then allegedly stood over Hohn and shot her in the head. Ramirez also shot and wounded the male patron as the man tried to flee. Both women died at the scene.
Investigators quickly identified Samuel Ramirez Jr. as the suspect, and the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged him with first-degree murder, second-degree murder, and attempted murder. Cellphone data showed that Ramirez fled Washington immediately after the killings. Authorities learned he had traveled to Arizona before being driven across the border into Tijuana, Mexico, just two days after the shooting.
For nearly three years, Ramirez remained a fugitive. In March 2026, the FBI placed him on its Ten Most Wanted list. The public attention led to his capture in Mexico just a short time later. Ramirez, a U.S. citizen, was deported to the United States and booked into the King County Jail to face the charges against him. As of his arraignment in March 2026, he was being held on $5 million bail.
