Oregon

‘Killer whale predation’: Gray whale washes up on Oregon beach covered in tooth marks

Published

2 years ago

May 9, 2024

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‘Killer whale predation’: Gray whale washes up on Oregon beach covered in tooth marks

A deceased gray whale calf with tooth marks all over its body was found on a beach in Oregon this week.

Jim Rice, a program manager with the Oregon Marine Mammal Stranding Network, told USA TODAY he was notified Tuesday of the 20-foot gray whale calf that washed ashore at Tish-A-Tang Beach in Bandon, Oregon.

Bandon is located in southern Oregon along the Pacific Ocean, about 140 miles southwest of Eugene.

The calf had widespread tooth marks over its body and “major trauma to the lower jaw and the underside of the body,” which Rice said indicated that it had recently died of severe injuries caused by “killer whale predation.”

What do whales eat? Inside the diet of blue, humpback, sperm and killer whales

What is a gray whale?

Gray whales are large whales, up to 49 feet long and weighing about 90,000 pounds. They have one of the longest migration patterns of any mammal, often traveling 10,000 to 14,000 miles round trip.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, they earned the nickname “devil fish” because of their aggressive response when harpooned by hunters. They were hunted nearly to extinction, but thanks to commercial whaling moratoriums and conservation efforts, they are now a protected species.

They mainly eat amphipod crustaceans, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, and their only major predators are humans and killer whales.

Where are gray whales found?

Although they were once common throughout the Northern Hemisphere, gray whales are now mainly found in the North Pacific Ocean, according to NOAA.

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Oregon

Convicted murderer sentenced to life in prison for Falls City, Oregon killing in 2024

Published

12 hours ago

March 27, 2026

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Convicted murderer sentenced to life in prison for Falls City, Oregon killing in 2024

FALLS CITY, Ore. — A 63-year-old was sentenced to life in prison for shooting and killing a man with a shotgun during a fight at a Falls City, Oregon property back in 2024.

A jury convicted Terry Lawrence Allwen of second-degree murder back on March 20, the Polk County District Attorney’s Office said.

He was sentenced Friday to serve life in prison with the possibility of parole after 25 years.

READ MORE | ‘What kind of monster does that?’ mom says as man sentenced for daughter’s killing

Allwen was also convicted of other charges like manslaughter, assault, and felon in possession of a firearm, but the sentences for those crimes will be served concurrently with the life sentence.

Court records show that Allwen was staying in an RV parked on a property owned by the victim, 79-year-old Bo Johnson.

At about 9 a.m. on May 31, 2024, Allwen and Johnson got into a verbal fight over some personal property. During that fight, Allwen got a shotgun from his trunk and shot Johnson once, killing him.

“Mr. Johnson had many more years to spend with his family. His senseless murder destroyed the dreams and plans of so many that loved him. I hope that the fact Mr. Allwen today received the maximum possible sentence will bring the family of Mr. Johnson some relief and sense of justice.”

If Allwen is granted parole, the judge also ordered that he have a lifetime of post-prison supervision.

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Oregon

Merkley Announces Additional Oregon Town Halls April 2-4

Published

24 hours ago

March 27, 2026

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Merkley Announces Additional Oregon Town Halls April 2-4

Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley announced today he will hold seven in-person town halls for Oregonians in Gilliam, Sherman, Klamath, Lake, Deschutes, Crook and Jefferson counties between Thursday, April 2 and Saturday, April 4. These events follow previously announced town halls between Monday, March 30 and Wednesday, April 1. “I’m looking forward to again visiting wonderful communities […]

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Oregon

Oregon Supreme Court overturns JonBenét Ramsey photographer conviction

Published

1 day ago

March 26, 2026

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Oregon Supreme Court overturns JonBenét Ramsey photographer conviction

The Oregon Supreme Court has overturned the conviction of a Lane County man who once photographed child beauty queen JonBenét Ramsey and was convicted in 2021 on several child pornography charges.

Randall DeWitt Simons, 73, of Oakridge, was charged in 2019 with 15 counts of first-degree encouraging child sex abuse. He was later convicted on every count and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Simons was first arrested after authorities began investigating a report from a restaurant in Oakridge that someone had been using the restaurant’s Wi-Fi to download inappropriate and concerning images.

Law enforcement officers directed the business to track, log, and report all of the user’s internet activity to the investigating officer for more than a year, without a warrant.

Police tracked the computer’s IP address from the restaurant’s Wi-Fi system, which led officers to a man who lived near the restaurant and had given Simons a computer, according to a probable cause affidavit filed in Lane County Circuit Court. Investigators obtained a warrant to search the laptop in Simon’s home, relying on information they had collected over time. He was subsequently arrested.

On March 26, the court ruled warrantless internet surveillance on public Wi-Fi violates privacy.

In an opinion written by Justice Bronson D. James, the court held that the Oregon Constitution recognizes people have a right to privacy in their internet browsing activities and the right is not extinguished when they use a publicly accessible wireless network. It’s even true in cases where that access is conditioned on a person accepting a terms-of-service agreement that says a provider may monitor activity and cooperate with law enforcement, James wrote.

During criminal proceedings in the Lane County Circuit Court, Simons moved to controvert the warrant and suppress the evidence obtained by police, arguing the business was a “state actor for purposes of Article I, section 9, and that its year-long warrantless surveillance was an unconstitutional, warrantless search attributable to the state,” the Supreme Court opinion said.

The Circuit Court denied Simon’s motion. The Oregon Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s decision in part and stated Simons had no cognizable privacy interest in his internet activities performed on a third-party network.

The Oregon Supreme Court rejected the state’s argument.

“The mere fact that a person accesses the internet through a public network does not eliminate their Article I, section 9, right to privacy in their online activities,” according to James. “Even when access is expressly conditioned on a user’s acceptance of terms-of-service provisions purporting to alert the user that the provider may monitor activity and cooperate with law enforcement.”

Justice K. Bushong suggested in a partial dissent the Court should reconsider its approach in a future case to what constitutes a “search” under the Oregon Constitution. The court’s decision reverses the Court of Appeals and sends the case back to the Lane County Circuit Court for further proceedings.

Simons has maintained his innocence since he was arrested in 2019.

Simons had been a photographer for 6-year-old Colorado beauty queen JonBenét Ramsey a few months before her still-unsolved 1996 murder, the Associated Press reported in 1998.

In October 1998, Simons was arrested on a charge of indecent exposure in Lincoln County, Colorado. According to the book “Perfect Murder, Perfect Town” by Lawrence Schiller, Simons was arrested in 1998 for allegedly walking nude down a residential street in the small town of Genoa, Colorado. Simons allegedly offered to the arresting deputy unprovoked, “I didn’t kill JonBenét.”

Haleigh Kochanski is a breaking news and public safety reporter for The Register-Guard. You may reach her at HKochanski@gannett.com.

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