US Politics | Haunting clue leads to suspect in brutal murder of 2 teens who were shot in the head five times as they worked on a car
A MAN has been charged with the murders of two teens killed 48 years ago after a haunting new clue in the case emerged. Steven Paul Criss, 65, is accused of shooting Peter Zito, 18, and Donald Bartron, 16, multiple times in the head back in 1974. 
Washington County Sheriff's OfficeSteven Paul Criss, now 65, allegedly gunned down the teens nearly 50 years ago '/ ' 
Washington County Sheriff's OfficePeter Zito was found lying on the ground next to the driver's door of a car in 1974 '/ ' 
Washington County Sheriff's OfficeDonald Barton was found slumped over the hood of the 1956 Oldsmobile, having been working on the engine '/ ' The high school students had been working on a car at the time, with a delivery driver finding their bodies just before 4am on October 4 at the Oak Hills Recreation Center in Beaverton, Oregon. Zito was lying on the ground next to the driver's door, while Bartron was slumped over the hood having been working on the engine. Both had been shot multiple times at close range, with their deaths remaining unsolved for nearly 50 years. Now, in a ground-breaking update, the county Sheriff's Office has matched the chilling murders to a separate shooting in the 70s. Investigators said ballistic evidence from a gun Steven Criss used to murder another man in 1976 \- two years after Bartron and Zito were killed \- matched that used to kill the boys. Read More US News 
WEEKEND BLOODBATH Chilling details on 40 minutes of gunfire with 6 dead in 2 cities 
BIRD IS THE WORD Inside 'Birdwatch' Twitter police that will 'virtually patrol' app Criss, who was 17 at the time, was an initial suspect in the case, having worked at a restaurant with Bartron. He was, however, dismissed and another student \- Joseph Amir Wilson \- was wrongly jailed for the killings. While Criss walked free, Wilson was jailed for four months. He was only released when police couldn't find evidence that he had killed the students. Most read in News MARCO'S MODUS OPERANDI Inside Marco Rubio's quest to expose the truth about UFOs CHAOTIC LIVING Shocking pics of home of 'most famous inbred family' who 'speak in grunts' PARANORMAL RANGERS Bizarre pics reveal clues into string of Bigfoot & UFO sightings SUIT SETTLED Trevor Noah settles lawsuit after 'surgery left him with permanent injury' STILL SEARCHING Missing Dylan Rounds' body may be hidden in unmarked mineshaft COLD CASE KILLER Suspect arrested in Mexico after couple & son, 3, stabbed to death in bed Then, in December 1974, about two months after the shootings, Criss was arrested for theft. Deputy Jim Spinden found an illegally concealed .22-caliber handgun in his car and the gun was taken for testing the same day. The crime lab reported the gun wasn't a match to the shooting scene at Oak Hills Recreation Center \- but at the time, ballistics testing was not as advanced as it is today. The gun was returned to Criss, and he went on to join the U.S. Army. In 1976, he shot and killed his commanding officer Sgt. Jacob "Kim" Brown, having owed him a few hundred dollars. He used the same caliber handgun that had been found in his car in 1974 and was sentenced to 35 years in a military prison, paroled after 12. But because he pleaded guilty and confessed, the Washington County Sheriff's Office never went back to check the ballistics, Oregon Live reports. And Deputy Brandon Toney, public information officer at the sheriff's office, said: "There's been substantial advancements (in the technology) since the 1970s.... Earlier this month, the Oregon State Police crime lab confirmed the gun Criss had when he was arrested in December 1974 was the same one used to kill Brown in 1976 – and the teenage boys in 1974. It's understood Criss did not have a personal relationship with Bartron and Zito, but they did have an encounter at a restaurant on the night the boys were killed. He was arrested near his Aloha home on Wednesday, police said. The case was has since been presented to a grand jury, which indicted Criss on two first-degree murder charges. Detectives want to speak with anyone who has information about the killings or Criss' life since his release from prison in 1988. They are also investigating the possibility he was responsible for other homicides. Read More on The US Sun 
PARANORMAL RANGERS Bizarre pics reveal clues into string of Bigfoot & UFO sightings 
TRAGIC SCENE Chilling clues of Aaron Carter's last moments as cops find compressed air cans Wrongly accused Joseph Amir Wilson died in 2000 of a heart attack. Sheriff Pat Garrett has formally apologized to Wilson's relatives for wrongfully arresting him 48 years ago. 
Washington County Sheriff's OfficeThe high school students were working on a car at the time '/ '
Washington County Sheriff's OfficeSteven Paul Criss, now 65, allegedly gunned down the teens nearly 50 years ago '/ ' Washington County Sheriff's OfficePeter Zito was found lying on the ground next to the driver's door of a car in 1974 '/ ' Washington County Sheriff's OfficeDonald Barton was found slumped over the hood of the 1956 Oldsmobile, having been working on the engine '/ ' The high school students had been working on a car at the time, with a delivery driver finding their bodies just before 4am on October 4 at the Oak Hills Recreation Center in Beaverton, Oregon. Zito was lying on the ground next to the driver's door, while Bartron was slumped over the hood having been working on the engine. Both had been shot multiple times at close range, with their deaths remaining unsolved for nearly 50 years. Now, in a ground-breaking update, the county Sheriff's Office has matched the chilling murders to a separate shooting in the 70s. Investigators said ballistic evidence from a gun Steven Criss used to murder another man in 1976 \- two years after Bartron and Zito were killed \- matched that used to kill the boys. Read More US News WEEKEND BLOODBATH Chilling details on 40 minutes of gunfire with 6 dead in 2 cities BIRD IS THE WORD Inside 'Birdwatch' Twitter police that will 'virtually patrol' app Criss, who was 17 at the time, was an initial suspect in the case, having worked at a restaurant with Bartron. He was, however, dismissed and another student \- Joseph Amir Wilson \- was wrongly jailed for the killings. While Criss walked free, Wilson was jailed for four months. He was only released when police couldn't find evidence that he had killed the students. Most read in News MARCO'S MODUS OPERANDI Inside Marco Rubio's quest to expose the truth about UFOs CHAOTIC LIVING Shocking pics of home of 'most famous inbred family' who 'speak in grunts' PARANORMAL RANGERS Bizarre pics reveal clues into string of Bigfoot & UFO sightings SUIT SETTLED Trevor Noah settles lawsuit after 'surgery left him with permanent injury' STILL SEARCHING Missing Dylan Rounds' body may be hidden in unmarked mineshaft COLD CASE KILLER Suspect arrested in Mexico after couple & son, 3, stabbed to death in bed Then, in December 1974, about two months after the shootings, Criss was arrested for theft. Deputy Jim Spinden found an illegally concealed .22-caliber handgun in his car and the gun was taken for testing the same day. The crime lab reported the gun wasn't a match to the shooting scene at Oak Hills Recreation Center \- but at the time, ballistics testing was not as advanced as it is today. The gun was returned to Criss, and he went on to join the U.S. Army. In 1976, he shot and killed his commanding officer Sgt. Jacob "Kim" Brown, having owed him a few hundred dollars. He used the same caliber handgun that had been found in his car in 1974 and was sentenced to 35 years in a military prison, paroled after 12. But because he pleaded guilty and confessed, the Washington County Sheriff's Office never went back to check the ballistics, Oregon Live reports. And Deputy Brandon Toney, public information officer at the sheriff's office, said: "There's been substantial advancements (in the technology) since the 1970s.... Earlier this month, the Oregon State Police crime lab confirmed the gun Criss had when he was arrested in December 1974 was the same one used to kill Brown in 1976 – and the teenage boys in 1974. It's understood Criss did not have a personal relationship with Bartron and Zito, but they did have an encounter at a restaurant on the night the boys were killed. He was arrested near his Aloha home on Wednesday, police said. The case was has since been presented to a grand jury, which indicted Criss on two first-degree murder charges. Detectives want to speak with anyone who has information about the killings or Criss' life since his release from prison in 1988. They are also investigating the possibility he was responsible for other homicides. Read More on The US Sun PARANORMAL RANGERS Bizarre pics reveal clues into string of Bigfoot & UFO sightings TRAGIC SCENE Chilling clues of Aaron Carter's last moments as cops find compressed air cans Wrongly accused Joseph Amir Wilson died in 2000 of a heart attack. Sheriff Pat Garrett has formally apologized to Wilson's relatives for wrongfully arresting him 48 years ago. Washington County Sheriff's OfficeThe high school students were working on a car at the time '/ '
No comments: