85-year-old woman charged with murder after double shooting in Federal Way

FEDERAL WAY, Wash. -- An 85-year-old woman accused of shooting two people she lived with - killing one of them - has been charged with premeditated murder and assault in the first degree.

Investigators said there was some initial confusion as to who shot two sisters who lived in a Federal Way home with 85-year-old Beverly Jenne, but police have since named Jenne as the suspect.

According to police reports, officers responded about 12:30 a.m. on Dec. 19 to reports of a shooting in the 2000 block of SW 306th Lane. The owner of the house told police that one of his tenants called and said she'd been shot in the chest.

The shooting victim told 911 dispatchers that she was upstairs and that she'd been shot by Jenne, who was downstairs.

When officers arrived, they could see a woman inside the home sitting down on a bed. They told her to come out of the house but she didn't comply. When she stood up, she fell back down and onto the floor. That's when officers broke a rear glass door to get in the home.

Jenne, the woman downstairs who had fallen to the floor, had a brown electrical cord wrapped around her neck. Police also found a black handgun on the bed where Jenne had been sitting.

One of the shooting victims was found upstairs and was able to talk to police before she was taken to a hospital. Her sister, Janet Oyuga, was found downstairs with several gunshot wounds to her back, chest and arms. She was dead when police arrived.

The homeowner told police that Jenne had owned the house since 1979, but it was foreclosed and sold in November 2019. The new owner was renovating the home and said he allowed Jenne to continue living there during the renovations.

The sisters who were shot had entered into a rent-to-own agreement with the new owner and, according to the new owner, wanted Jenne to be able to stay at the house until she found another place to go so she wouldn't end up homeless.

Investigators said they found a note in Jenne's 1977 Chevrolet Malibu that was parked in the driveway. The note laid out reasons for killing Oyuga, saying she "drove me to this."

"Janet just pushed and pushed and I just couldn't cope anymore as I had no one to help me," the letter stated.

There were also instructions for Jenne's burial and directions on where to find her will.

Jenne has been charged with murder in the first degree and assault in the first degree. Prosecutors have asked that bail be set at $1 million, citing her "animosity" toward the sisters who tried to help her and her lack of family in the area.

The family set up a GoFundMe account to help with funeral expenses and bringing Janet back to Kenya.