Brother in Rural Washington Killings to Plead Guilty Friday

SEATTLE (AP) — An attorney representing one of two brothers who had been charged with killing a rural Washington state couple and burying their remains says the man will plead guilty to lesser charges.

Tony Clyde Reed's attorney, James Kirkham, said Wednesday that Reed will plead guilty to two counts of felony rendering criminal assistance on Friday.

Murder charges against him were dropped Tuesday after authorities said further investigation revealed Reed was not present when Monique Patenaude and her husband, Patrick Shunn, were killed.

Kirkham says Reed will enter the pleas as part of an agreement that includes a sentencing range of 12 to 14 months.

Reed turned himself in at the U.S.-Mexico border last month and led authorities to the couple's grave. The two were former neighbors of his brother John Reed in Oso, a rural community northeast of Seattle that was devastated in a 2014 landslide.

John Reed remains at large.