Medical examiner identifies victims of mass stabbing on Key Peninsula
Three women killed in a mass stabbing on the Key Peninsula Tuesday have been identified by the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Joanne Kathleen Brandani, 59; Stephanie Killilea, 67; and Louise Sandra Talley, 81 died from multiple sharp-force injuries, according to the medical examiner public information portal. Each victim’s death was ruled a homicide.
The medical examiner indicated that Brandani and Talley were residents of the Gig Harbor area but didn’t list a place of residence for Killilea by Friday afternoon.
Killilea and Brandani were appointed volunteer members of the Gig Harbor Arts Commission, which encourages and sponsors public programs “to further the development and public awareness of fine arts and performing arts in our community,” according to its website.
The medical examiner also confirmed the identity of a 32-year-old man fatally shot by deputies, Aleksandr Aleksandro Shablykin, 32, and a 52-year-old woman, Zoya Anatolyevna Shabliykina, whose death was also ruled a homicide from multiple sharp-force injuries. The News Tribune identified Aleksandr as Zoya’s son from court records and interviews with people close to the family.
The Medical Examiner’s Office indicated that Shablykin was a Gig Harbor-area resident but hadn’t identified a place of residence for his mother.
Pierce County Sheriff’s Office deputies received a call that a man was entering a house in violation of a protection order at 8:41 a.m. Tuesday and were en route when multiple reports came in at 9:30 a.m. about a man stabbing people in the area of the 14000 block of 87th Avenue Court Northwest. A deputy arrived and fired shots at 9:33 a.m., killing the 32-year-old suspect, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
This story was originally published February 27, 2026 at 5:11 PM.
