Pierce County man killed in shooting identified. Son awaiting trial for murder
A man fatally shot inside his home in Parkland earlier this month has been identified, according to the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Paul Courtney, 63, died from a shotgun wound to the chest on Oct. 10 near the 400 block of 142nd Street Court South. His manner of death was ruled a homicide, the office wrote in a news release.
His son, 41-year-old Michael Paul Courtney, is accused of the shooting. Investigators say Michael Courtney’s mother overheard her son talking to someone upstairs in the house, so she asked Paul Courtney who he was talking to. The woman told deputies she heard her husband ask moments later, “Are you pointing a gun at me?” before a gunshot rang out.
Prosecutors charged Michael Courtney with first-degree murder and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm. He pleaded not guilty to the charges and is being held at the Pierce County Jail on a $1 million bail.
Michael Courtney has previous convictions in Pierce County for third-degree assault domestic violence from 2011, fourth-degree assault and obstructing a law enforcement officer from 2009.
His next court hearing is scheduled for Nov. 13.
This story was originally published October 24, 2025 at 11:59 AM.
