The early morning case began with a call from the man’s out-of-state parents.
SEVEN FIELDS, Pa. — Authorities identified a husband and wife found dead Tuesday after police were called to a Butler County home and later searched nearby woods for the man, Pennsylvania State Police said.
Investigators said Madeline Spatafore, 25, was found shot multiple times inside a home on Graywyck Drive. Ryan Hosso, 26, was later found dead in a wooded area near Cranberry Township. Police described the deaths as an apparent murder-suicide and said the incident appeared isolated.
Trooper Bertha Cazy said Northern Regional police were first contacted around 1:15 a.m. by Hosso’s parents. Cazy said the parents told police their son had called them, said he killed his wife and said he was in the woods threatening to take his own life. Officers responded to the Seven Fields home and found Spatafore dead.
The search then moved outside the home. Police said Hosso was found over the Cranberry Township line with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Northern Regional Police Department Chief Bryan DeWick said officers located him after about an hourlong search. Local reports said thermal drones were used as police searched the wooded area.
State police said the investigation involved several agencies because the case covered more than one municipality. Seven Fields is a borough in Butler County, while the wooded area where Hosso was found was in neighboring Cranberry Township. Cazy said that kind of response required coordination among police departments and state investigators.
Officials had not released a motive as of Tuesday night. Cazy said investigators planned to speak with relatives and neighbors as they worked to piece together the hours before the shooting. She said some findings may remain private. Police said there was no wider threat to the community.
Spatafore had ties to Duquesne University and UPMC Presbyterian, where she worked as a physician assistant. People who knew her described her as bright and kind. Hosso had been listed in past employment records as a mechanical engineer, though local reports said he had not worked for one Pittsburgh-area firm in several years.
The deaths shocked residents along Graywyck Drive, where police and forensic teams remained for hours. Neighbors told local reporters they woke to an unexpected police presence and later learned two people had died. The scene quieted after investigators finished processing evidence at the home and wooded area.
State police continued the investigation Wednesday, focusing on evidence from the home, the wooded area and interviews with people connected to the couple.
Author note: Last updated April 29, 2026.