In the quiet town of Shelton, Washington, a tragedy unfolded on January 24, 2017, claiming the life of Tara M. Abernathy, a 32-year-old White/Caucasian woman. Concerns arose when Tara, a dedicated employee of the Washington State Department of Corrections, failed to appear for her job. Deputies from the Mason County Sheriff's Office were dispatched to her home on East Aloha Lane to conduct a welfare check. There, they made a grim discovery. Inside the residence lay the bodies of Tara and a man later identified as 34-year-old Kenneth E. Koonrad of Montesano. Both individuals had sustained fatal gunshot wounds.
The investigation into the double homicide quickly pointed to a primary suspect: Jared Abernathy, Tara's 33-year-old ex-husband. Authorities learned that there had been reports of threats made by Jared following their recent divorce, establishing him as the sole person of interest in the case. A multi-state manhunt ensued as law enforcement from the Mason County Sheriff's Office, with assistance from the U.S. Marshals, tracked the suspect to Pendleton, Oregon.
In Pendleton, Jared Abernathy was located at a Motel 6, and the building was promptly surrounded by law enforcement. A tense standoff stretched on for approximately five hours as negotiators attempted to bring the situation to a peaceful resolution. However, their efforts were in vain. In the evening, a muffled gunshot was heard from inside the motel room. When officers made entry, they found the suspect deceased from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The investigation into the deaths of Tara Abernathy and Kenneth Koonrad was closed following the suicide of the perpetrator, with no further arrests made.
