The Story of the Killer Couple- David and Shelly Knotek

Shelly Knotek and her husband David were arrested at their Raymond, Washington, home on August 8, 2003, for a string of violent killings that had been going on for almost ten years. Their own daughters had reported them.

Investigators rapidly determined that while Shelly had a long history of abusive behavior and violence, David's past was considerably less ominous even though he confessed to killing Shelly's 17-year-old nephew, Shane Watson after Shelly had instructed him.

Even when they were both taken into custody, the couple's daughters largely held their mother responsible, saying David was a weak man who couldn't stand up for himself.

The Love Between David And Shelly

When they first met in April 1982, David Knotek thought Shelly was "the most gorgeous girl" he had ever seen. Sami and Nikki were her two daughters, and she was a young, twice-divorced woman. After serving in the Navy for many years, he was employed in construction.

After getting married in 1987, the couple welcomed a child two years later. The Knoteks appeared to be a typical, content family from the outside.

However, Shelly started abusing David verbally and physically soon after they got married, and David was unable to stop her. One of the daughter recounted, "While I adore him, Dave is just a very weak man. That's why my mom was able to control him."

How Shelly Abused Friends and Family Members in Need

Sadly, David wasn't the only member of the family to experience abuse at the hands of Shelly. In reality, Shelly's daughters received the majority of the abuse, but the Knoteks' invited guests received the harshest treatment.

Shelly's 13-year-old nephew Shane Watson moved in with David and Shelly in 1988, just before Tori, their daughter, was born. Shane's mother battled substance misuse, while his father was frequently in and out of jail.

But very quickly Shane realized he had reached a different type of hell.

Shelly Knotek started punishing Shane in the same way she had been punishing her own daughters: by "wallowing." Forcing the kids to lie in the dirt naked at night while she soaked them in cold water was the usual method for doing this. The girls would sometimes wallow while being confined to a dog crate or a chicken box.

She made Knotek's younger daughter, Nikki, a teenager, dance naked with Shane and made the girls chop off tufts of their pubic hair to humiliate them.

And to keep her family in check, Shelly Knotek would flick the switch after every brutal, cruel deed and offer them unrelenting love.

The Knoteks welcomed Kathy Loreno, a family acquaintance, into their house after she lost her job in the same year that Shane moved in with his aunt and uncle. However, Shelly also mistreated Loreno at times.

Although Shelly initially "love-bombed" her lifelong friend, she didn't take long to humiliate Loreno as well, drug her with tranquilizers, and starve her.

Shelly took great pleasure in hurting other people. She became conceited as a result. She exhibited all the characteristics of a psychopath but has never received a formal diagnosis.

The First Murder In The Family

After six years of residing with the Knoteks, Loreno had lost 100 pounds, spent the majority of her time working while naked, and slept in the basement near to the boiler.

David Knotek assisted in torturing Loreno by duct-taping her arms and legs together and putting bleach on her open sores.

In 1994, Loreno allegedly died from choking on her own vomit, ending years of maltreatment, according to David Knotek. He added that because doing so would have brought suspicion upon him and Shelly, they never took Loreno to the hospital or filed a death report. Instead, the pair set Loreno's body on fire in the garden and dispersed her remains throughout the Pacific.

If anyone finds out what happened to Kathy, we're all going to jail, Shelly Knotek then threatened her family.

But shortly after that tragic event, in February 1995, Shane went to Nikki with a number of Polaroid pictures of Kathy that he had shot over the years, depicting the tortured woman covered in bruises and sores. He also disclosed to her his intention to present the pictures to the police.

Young and terrified, Nikki informed her mother of Shane's scheme.

They once again burned the body and dispersed the ashes after Shelly persuaded David Knotek to shoot the teenager in the backyard.

Daughters Report Parents to the Authorities

Sami and Nikki had matured into young women by 1999 and had left the house. Tori Knotek, the youngest child of David and Shelly Knotek, was only 14 years old and still residing at home when Ron Woodworth, a gay 57-year-old veteran with a quick wit and a drug abuse issue, showed up.

David Knotek was 160 kilometers away working on a contract project.

Woodworth received the same overwhelmingly warm treatment as their other guests when they initially visited, but Shelly soon humiliated him. Woodworth was frequently made to drink his own pee by Shelly and he wasn't allowed to use the bathroom inside the house. She once made him jump from the roof of their two-story home.

The smell Tori described as "like bleach and decomposing flesh, like it was burning his skin off... " was caused by the boiling water and bleach she used to "cure" his wounds. For a month, he had that odor.

In August 2003, Woodworth passed away from his injuries. Shelly kept his remains in a freezer for four days until David came home to handle with it.

Sami, Nikki, and Tori that same week at Nikki's house in Seattle and decided to report their parents.

Ultimately, David Knotek was charged with one count of first-degree murder in connection with the deaths of Shane and Kathy, while Shelly was charged with two charges of first-degree murder in connection with the deaths of Ron and Kathy.

They all agreed to plea bargains in exchange for sentences that were reduced, with the exception of Shelly, who chose a rare Alford plea that allowed her to admit guilt while also maintaining her innocence. By doing this, she avoided a trial in front of a jury that would have exposed the full scope of her crimes.

22 years in prison were imposed on her. David Knotek was given a 15-year term.

After spending 13 years in prison he was granted parole in 2016.

Shelly was nearly released early from prison due to excellent behavior. But when her parole request came up in June 2022, it was turned down. Her sentence is currently set to expire in 2025.