Police: Oregon suspect killed two before shooting himself

By Andrew Selsky | Related Press

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — The suspect in a violent kidnapping in Oregon — a person who spent little time behind bars for the same crime in Nevada — killed two males earlier than being cornered by officers and fatally taking pictures himself, police mentioned Wednesday.

Benjamin Obadiah Foster, 36, died at a hospital Tuesday night time, hours after he shot himself whereas hiding in a crawlspace beneath a home in Grants Cross. In a information convention the subsequent day, legislation enforcement officers revealed particulars on the intensive manhunt for Foster, together with discovering the our bodies of the 2 males in a rural space north of Grants Cross.

Richard Lee Barron Jr., and Donald Owen Griffith had been killed someday between Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning, Oregon State Police Capt. Kyle Kennedy mentioned.

The boys lived collectively within the unincorporated neighborhood of Sunny Valley and apparently didn’t know Foster, who police mentioned left a ugly scene and stole among the victims’ belongings, together with their canine.

Foster was seen strolling a canine Tuesday in Grants Cross, based on police.

He had been the topic of a manhunt after a lady was discovered unconscious, certain and close to dying in a home in Grants Cross on Jan. 24. Authorities say Foster tortured the lady, who remained hospitalized in essential situation on Wednesday.

Foster narrowly eluded a raid final Thursday within the unincorporated neighborhood of Wolf Creek, and police warned the general public the subsequent day that he was utilizing relationship apps to seek out individuals who may assist him keep away from authorities or to seek out new victims.

Foster then was seen Tuesday in the identical neighborhood the place the lady was discovered. He barricaded himself underneath the identical home as police arrived in full power. Foster then shot himself, was taken into custody and died at a hospital, police mentioned.

In 2019, earlier than transferring to Oregon, Foster held his then-girlfriend captive inside her Las Vegas condo for 2 weeks. He reached a cope with Clark County prosecutors in August 2021 that allowed him to plead responsible to at least one felony rely of battery and a misdemeanor rely of battery constituting home violence.

A choose sentenced Foster to between one and a pair of 1/2 years in a Nevada jail. After factoring within the 729 days he had spent in jail awaiting trial, Foster may have been made to serve nearly 200 extra days underneath the utmost sentence. As an alternative, he was launched the day he was dropped at jail, based on Nevada corrections division officers.

Grants Cross Police Chief Warren Hensman mentioned final week that it was “extraordinarily troubling” that Foster wound up being hunted for tried homicide in Oregon as an alternative of doing time in Nevada.

The assault on the lady and ensuing search by native, state and federal brokers has rattled residents of Grants Cross, a city of some 40,000 in southwest Oregon.