Every town needs a veterinarian. Like the people in his small Oregon town, the actions of the veterinarian in this true crime will also surprise you.
For over twenty years, the veterinarian cared for the animals in his community. He had one of the busiest clinics in town. Many of those who’d taken their animal to him for care said he was the nicest man, he was kind and compassionate, and they referred their family and friends to him.
The divorced doctor and one of his employees began an affair. The employee, who was married, had a troubled relationship with her husband. He too had cheated. Five months into the extramarital affair between the veterinarian and his employee, her husband found out and, she ended the relationship with her boss. She continued to work at the clinic.
Even though she had ended the relationship and was trying to salvage her marriage, the doctor still longed for her. He became obsessed with knowing what she was doing, he hid a tracking device on her vehicle. Eventually, the woman ended her employment at the animal clinic.
This was the beginning of years of stalking and harassment. The couple installed security cameras. When they caught him on a camera, they’d call 9-1-1. Deputies responded every time but took little action.
The couple applied for a stalking protection order. The husband wrote in the application—the veterinarian’s anger appears to be escalating. When the expiration date of the protection order drew close, the doctor threatened to bankrupt the couple in legal fees if they renewed the order. They let it expire.
Almost five years after the employee ended the relationship with her boss to save her marriage, the veterinarian, now retired, he shifted his focus to the husband and followed him to his work, followed home. He bought vehicles unfamiliar to the husband to follow the man without being noticed. He studied the man’s habits.
The obsession climaxed when the doctor, dressed in disguise, waited in an unfamiliar vehicle parked next to the husband’s vehicle in his workplace parking lot. As the husband approached his driver’s door, the doctor went behind him and put him in a choke hold so tight he severed the man’s spinal cord. The 56-year-old victim didn’t survive.
There was little doubt who had murdered the man in the parking lot. Law enforcement officers arrested the retired veterinarian. The veterinarian claimed self-defense. He said the husband attacked him. A jury found him guilty of murder and stalking. The judge sentenced the 58-year-old retired veterinarian to LIFE IN PRISON.
Source: County District Attorney, Law & Crime, Williamette Week
All data and information provided is for information and research purposes only and not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, or individual. Criminal cases may have been appealed or verdicts overturned since I researched the case. All information is provided on an as-is basis.
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