The Lethal Caress of a Devil Worshipper?

The date was June 1, 1988. Summer was just around the cor­ner. All indications were that it was going to be a hot one in the Pacific Northwest, particularly in Oregon's Willamette Valley, where the cities of Eugene and Springfield are located. With temperatures in the mid-to-up­per-80s, the magnolias and roses were already beginning to show their varied colors along the busy streets, in residential yards, and especially around public buildings.

It was just such a peaceful scene that several members of the Springfield Police Department were dispatched to later that same day, except that it was on low­er ground near a water-filtration plant. They weren't there, however, to listen to the treetops stirring with the whisper of a cooling breeze. They had been called there to investigate the unnerving dis­covery of a young woman's body, and their presence soon created movement from the curious transients in the nearby forest camps.

Captain Jerry Smith, who headed the investigation under the direction of Springfield Police Chief Rob DeuPree, was among the first to arrive. He briefly observed the body, noted that the wo­man was probably in her late teens, and then directed officers from his department to cordon off a large area around the corpse. He, along with other investiga­tors, then set about determining the di­mensions of the crime scene.

The woman, observed Smith, was only partially clad. Her clothing was no­where to be found. She wasn't wearing any jewelry, which seemed odd for a woman of that age, and there was no purse or wallet on or near the corpse, another oddity.

A gut feeling told him that this wasn't a sexual assault; it just didn't look like one. But, he couldn't help asking, why was the victim only partially clad and where were the missing clothes? Why would the perpetrator take them? Al­though he didn't really expect to find the missing clothes, Smith nonetheless in­structed a couple of officers to search beyond the perimeters of the crime scene just in case the killer or killers had left any items behind. They were also told to flush out and question any hoboes living in the area.

After photographs of the victim were taken, a Lane County deputy medical examiner made his preliminary observa­tions. Among the things he noted was that the victim bore marks and abrasions on her neck. He suspected that the hyoid bone was fractured or crushed, often an indication of strangulation. He also ob­served discoloration of the neck and face, as well as a swollen protruding tongue, which also supported his theory as to the cause of death.

Postmortem lividity on the undermost portions of the victim's body indicated that she had been killed where she was found. He agreed with Smith's opinion that it didn't appear she had been sexu­ally assaulted. He said, however, that laboratory tests would have to be con­ducted to make certain.

After Oregon State Police (OSP) crime lab technicians completed their examination of the victim's body, the corpse was placed inside the body bag and transported to the Lane County Morgue in Eugene.

Although they had conducted a grid search of the area and were fairly cer­tain that they hadn't missed anything, the probers went over the designated crime scene again just to be sure. But night soon drew down on the investiga­tors like a black cowl so they packed up their gear and called it a day.

The next day was almost as hectic. The lawmen rounded up what few hoboes they could find for questioning, but the cops quickly decided that none of those questioned knew anything about the homicide.

Following another search of the crime scene, the probers decided that any additional effort in this area would only be futile. It appeared that there was nothing in the woods which could point them toward a suspect, and no one asso­ciated with the investigation would say what evidence, if any, had been found.

 Meanwhile, an autopsy of the vic­tim's body by Dr. Frank Ratti, Lane County Medical Examiner, revealed that she did in fact die from strangulation. It appeared she had been choked, and at some point a thin, solid item had been pressed against her throat with great pressure. Ratti did not speculate on what that item may have been. A published newspaper account reported that she had also been struck in the head by a heavy object.