Katie Duhnke was a 37-year-old White female described by friends as a tough "little pitbull" with a lot of love who lit up every room she entered. She worked as a bartender at Stars Bar & Grill in Federal Way, Washington, alongside her best friend and roommate, Jessyca Hohn. Friends said the two were inseparable, always together in life.
In the early morning hours of May 21, 2023, Duhnke and Hohn were finishing their shift.
The night took a dark turn after a customer alerted them that another patron, Samuel Ramirez Jr., was carrying a gun inside the bar. As the establishment closed around 3:30 a.m., Duhnke and Hohn confronted Ramirez in the parking lot. The argument escalated, and Ramirez reportedly struck one of the women. The male customer who had given the initial warning intervened, tackling Ramirez to the ground. After Ramirez said he was done fighting, the customer let him up. It was then that Ramirez allegedly pulled out a handgun and opened fire.
Katie Duhnke was shot once in the head and died at the scene. Her death was ruled a homicide. Jessyca Hohn was also shot multiple times and killed. The 25-year-old male customer was shot in the arm as he ran away, but he survived his injuries. The shooter, identified by police as Samuel Ramirez Jr., fled before authorities arrived.
A few days later, the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged Ramirez with first-degree murder for the death of Jessyca Hohn, second-degree murder for the death of Katie Duhnke, and attempted first-degree murder for the shooting of the male customer. A warrant was issued for his arrest, but Ramirez had already vanished. Investigators determined that just two days after the killings, Ramirez’s parents drove him to Tijuana, Mexico. He remained a fugitive for nearly three years.
In March 2026, the FBI added Samuel Ramirez Jr. to its "Ten Most Wanted Fugitives" list, offering a reward for information leading to his arrest. Just 73 minutes later, authorities captured him in Mexico. Ramirez was deported back to the United States and returned to Washington to face the charges. On March 25, 2026, he pleaded not guilty in King County Superior Court. As of March 2026, he was being held on $5 million bail while awaiting trial.
