Michelle Knotek

Michelle Knotek is an American convicted murderer from Raymond, Washington. She was convicted in 2004 of second degree murder and first degree manslaughter for her role in the torture and deaths of Kathy Loreno and Ronald Woodworth, who were both boarders in Knotek's home. Her husband, David Knotek, was also convicted of the murder of her 17-year-old nephew Shane Watson, who lived with the Knoteks. Michelle is also suspected of possible involvement in the death of James McClintock, an 81-year-old whose assets she inherited after he died of head trauma incurred while Knotek was employed as his caregiver on February 9, 2002. The Knoteks' crimes made national headlines due to allegations of abuse and torture. She served approximately 18 years at the Washington Corrections Center for Women in Gig Harbor and was released on November 8, 2022. Her husband David Knotek was sentenced to 15 years in prison. He served approximately 13 years at the Monroe Correctional Complex before being paroled in 2016.

Victims Kathy Loreno, 36 Kathy Loreno was a hairdresser working in South Bend, Washington, when she met Michelle Knotek, and the two became friends. In 1991 after an argument between Loreno and her family, Loreno moved out of their home and into the home of Michelle and David Knotek. During her stay at the Knoteks' home, it was alleged that Loreno suffered physical abuse. In 1994, Loreno was reported missing by family members. When interviewed by authorities, the Knoteks stated that Loreno had run away with a truck driver and moved to California.

Michelle Knotek maintained that she and Loreno were in regular contact. However, a private investigator hired by Loreno's brother concluded that she had probably been murdered by Michelle Knotek.

Shane Watson, 19 Shane Watson, born in 1975 in Tacoma, was Michelle Knotek's nephew. Watson moved in with the Knoteks around 1988. Shortly after Loreno's disappearance in 1994, Watson seemingly vanished too. The Knoteks initially claimed that Watson had run away to Alaska to work on a fishing vessel. David Knotek later claimed that he had shot Watson with a .22 caliber rifle. David Knotek also stated that he burned the bodies of Shane Watson and Kathy Loreno and scattered their ashes at the beach. She served approximately 18 years at the Washington Corrections Center for Women in Gig Harbor and was released on November 8, 2022. Sins and Secrets and Snapped.

A book by true crime author Gregg Olsen, If You Tell: A True Story of Murder, Family Secrets, and the Unbreakable Bond of Sisterhood, was published in 2019.