The man who killed a beloved couple in their Washington State home last year, less than one month before they planned to open a brewery, was sentenced to 66 years in prison Wednesday, multiple news outlets report.
Shaun D. Rose, 40, pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Steven and Mina Shulz, both 51, who were found dead on their Olalla property on Aug. 18, 2022, according to The News.
Authorities said the horrifying discovery was made by the couple’s daughter, who went to check on her parents at their house and found signs of a break-in along with blood inside. Unable to locate either of her parents, she called 911.
“Imagine your child coming to check on you and to find that kind of a scene,” Lt. Ken Dickinson said, per reports.
During the March 8 sentencing, the daughter confronted the man who killed her parents in Kitsap County Superior Court.
“My parents were robbed of their lives and robbed from my life,” the daughter said, per King-TV. “He ended their future, their place in my life. I lie awake haunted by thoughts of what my parents went through in their final moments.”
Investigators initially did not share how the couple died, only calling their deaths a result of “homicidal violence,” according to the news release, previously obtained .
Court records reviewed revealed that officers found the couple’s bodies with gunshot wounds in a garbage can near their home that afternoon.
Rose was identified as a suspect and arrested at a Tacoma, Wash., gas station four days later, after leading authorities on a chase through Mason and Pierce counties, according to the release.
Prosecutors called the crime a robbery gone wrong, saying that Rose was caught in the act of burglarizing the home and decided to kill the couple rather than flee, according to The News .
A judge this week also accepted a plea deal that included a lifetime no-contact order for the couple’s daughter, reported.
The Shulzes owned a business called East 2 West Brewing and were just three weeks shy of opening their first brewery when they were killed, according to their obituary.
“It’s just senseless,” the couple’s friend, Dwaine Weyland previously told TV. “They deserved a chance to realize their dream. They deserved a chance to continue their life because all they did was contribute good to the world.”
Steven first met Mina when he was stationed at the Yokota Air Base in Japan while serving in the U.S. Air Force, their obituary says. The couple married in 1993.
According to press, the couple and Rose had no known connection prior to the murders.