Tragic Murder-Suicide: Young Husband Fatally Shoots Wife Before Taking Own Life in Nearby Woods

A young engineer tragically ended the life of his high school sweetheart within her father’s residence, then fled to the nearby woods where he took his own life.

Authorities responding to the scene in the serene neighborhood of Seven Fields, located roughly 20 miles north of Pittsburgh, discovered 25-year-old Madeline Spatafore deceased.

Her spouse of 19 months, 26-year-old Ryan Hosso, was found later in the wooded area behind the Graywyck Drive home, having died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

The alarm was raised around 1:15 a.m. on Tuesday by Hosso’s parents, Don and Jennifer, after receiving a distressing phone call from their son confessing to the crime and expressing suicidal intentions.

While local law enforcement commenced a search of the woods to locate Hosso, he ended his life before officers could apprehend him, according to police reports.

Hosso and Spatafore married in Wooster, Ohio, on September 21, 2024, after dating since early high school.

The young couple was living at the home of Spatafore’s father John – a senior project manager at construction company PJ Dick, Trumbull and Lindy in Pittsburgh.

Spatafore grew up there after her family moved from Ohio in 2006 and bought the three-bedroom home for $319,000.

Ryan Hosso, 26, shot dead his wife Madeline Spatafore, 25, before turning the gun on himself

Spatafore was found dead after police rushed to her father’s house (pictured) on a quiet street in Seven Fields, about 20 miles north of Pittsburgh, overnight

Hosso and Spatafore married in Wooster, Ohio, on September 21, 2024, after dating his since early high school. They are pictured on their honeymoon

John Spatafore could not be reached for comment.

Neighbors told the Daily Mail they awoke to see police swarming the house on a usually quiet suburban street, and yellow tape around the lawn. 

Photos of Hosso and Spatafore through the years showed them attending prom together and at high school graduations in 2019.

They went to different universities afterwards – Spatafore from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh where she graduated summa cum laude, and Hosso at Akron University in Ohio.

They reunited after their graduation and got engaged ahead of their wedding the following year.

Spatafore was a neurocritical care physician assistant at UPMC Presbyterian Hospital in Pittsburgh and Hosso an applications engineer at riveting machine maker BalTec.

‘My role involves critical care management of patients with high acuity neurological conditions including subarachnoid hemorrhage, post-op tumor resection, status epilepticus, and ischemic CVA,’ Spatafore wrote on her linkedIn.

‘I strive to provide excellent patient care while collaborating with multidisciplinary teams.’

Spatafore was a neurocritical care physician assistant at UPMC Presbyterian Hospital in Pittsburgh when she was killed

Photos of Hosso and Spatafore through the years showed them attending prom together and at high school graduations in 2019

The couple was living at the home of Spatafore’s father John – a senior project manager at construction company PJ Dick, Trumbull and Lindy in Pittsburgh

Pennsylvania State Police have not revealed a motive for the murder-suicide, nor detailed the events leading up to it.

The state police took over the investigation as Spatafore was murdered in Seven Fields, under Northern Regional Police Department jurisdiction, and Hosso took his own life just over the border with Cranberry Township.

‘We’re going to be here as long as it takes to process the scene,’ state police trooper Bertha Cazy said. 

‘That does take an extended amount of time, just with the different organizations that we have here.’