Investigators processed a home in Seven Fields and woods in Cranberry Township after the fatal shooting.
SEVEN FIELDS, Pa. — A domestic shooting report sent police to a Butler County home early April 28, then into nearby woods where officers found the suspected shooter dead, authorities said.
The response became a two-scene investigation involving Northern Regional Police, Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania State Police and other local agencies. Police said 25-year-old Madeline Spatafore was killed inside her Seven Fields home, while her husband, 26-year-old Ryan Hosso, was later found dead behind the residence across the municipal line.
The call that started the response did not come from the home itself. State police said Hosso’s parents contacted authorities at about 1:15 a.m. and reported that their son told them he had killed his wife at their residence. They also told police he was threatening to kill himself. Northern Regional Police officers went to the home in Seven Fields and found Spatafore dead from multiple gunshot wounds. Hosso was not there, turning the first scene into a search for an armed suspect. Northern Regional Police Chief Bryan DeWick said the suspect was at large only briefly before officers found him. The wooded area where Hosso was located sits behind the home but in neighboring Cranberry Township, according to officials.
State police said Hosso was deceased from a single gunshot wound when he was found. The agency’s April 28 release described the case as a homicide and suicide and said the investigation was still open. Police did not say whether Hosso was found with a firearm or release details about the weapon. Officials also did not release the full contents of the call from his parents, the exact time Spatafore was shot or how long Hosso was in the woods. The first confirmed public facts came from the state police statement: a call from the actor’s parents, a dead woman with multiple gunshot wounds in Seven Fields and a dead man with a single gunshot wound in Cranberry Township.
The split scene affected who handled the case. Northern Regional Police responded first because the residence was in its service area. Once officers found the second location in Cranberry Township, state police from the Butler barracks took over the lead role. Trooper Bertha Cazy said several organizations were involved and that investigators would need time to process the scene. She said the crime unit planned to talk with neighbors and build a history of what had been happening around the home. That work included asking whether anyone noticed something out of place before police arrived. DeWick said the case appeared domestic in nature and involved a husband and wife. Officials did not announce any broader public threat after Hosso was found.
Seven Fields is a borough north of Pittsburgh in Butler County, near Cranberry Township, Mars and other suburban communities. The area around Graywyck Drive includes residential streets close to wooded land, a layout that shaped the early search. A shooting inside a home became a search outside the home within minutes of the first response. Police had to secure the residence, locate Hosso, protect the area where he was found and coordinate evidence collection across the boundary. The case was not presented as a standoff or a chase. Instead, the public description showed a short but intense response between the parents’ emergency call and the discovery of Hosso’s body.
Spatafore and Hosso were both local high school graduates, according to local reports. Hosso graduated from Seneca Valley High School in 2018, and Spatafore graduated in 2019. They married in September 2024 in Ohio, according to reports citing wedding information, and lived in Seven Fields. Spatafore studied at Duquesne University and later worked as a neurovascular critical care physician assistant at UPMC Presbyterian Hospital. Her obituary said she completed a bachelor’s degree in 2023 and a master’s degree in physician assistant studies in 2024. Hosso’s online job history listed engineering work, including a past role at Vavco. A company representative told a local station that Hosso had not worked there in several years.
The investigative path differs from a typical homicide case because the accused shooter is dead. There was no booking, arraignment, complaint or bond hearing to follow. Instead, the next steps centered on evidence and findings. Police had to prepare reports, confirm the manner and cause of death through appropriate authorities and determine whether any outside factors help explain the violence. Officials did not say whether investigators had recovered notes, messages or other records. They did not release a history of domestic calls, if any existed. The open investigation meant authorities could still gather statements from relatives, neighbors, employers and others who knew the couple. It also meant public answers could arrive slowly or remain limited if no criminal prosecution follows.
People who knew Spatafore focused on her life beyond the crime scene. Philip Clarke, a former Duquesne University student services director, said she was active and widely liked on campus. “Maddie lit up a room,” Clarke said. He said she was smart, involved and driven, and he described her death as unspeakable. Her obituary named her parents, sisters, grandparents, extended family and friends. It said she worked in UPMC Presbyterian Hospital’s neurocritical care unit and would be remembered for confidence, hard work and thoughtfulness. A celebration of life gathering was scheduled for May 19 in Renfrew, with the family asking that media not attend.
By the end of the first day, police had identified both dead, described the case as a domestic murder-suicide and said the investigation continued. The next milestone is the completion of the state police review into the home, the wooded area and the events before the 1:15 a.m. call.
Author note: Last updated May 21, 2026.