Police: Barista killer ditched guns before meeting detectives
OREGON CITY, Ore. (AP) - An Oregon man charged in the Oct. 16 death of a 21-year-old barista unwittingly left a trail of evidence as police followed him in the hours before his arrest, court documents show.
On Oct. 19, Jonathan Holt discarded one handgun in bushes at his north Portland workplace, according to documents released Friday.
Investigators say he dropped another handgun in the grass outside the suburban Gresham Police Department, just before he entered for an interview at which police say he confessed to sexually abusing and killing Whitney Heichel of Gresham. Holt was arrested during that interview.
During a brief court appearance Friday, Holt, 25, was indicted on charges of kidnap, robbery and sodomy. He was earlier charged with aggravated murder.
Lawyer Conor Thomas Huseby, appointed to represent Holt, declined to answer questions.
Hundreds of people from around the Portland area gathered Friday at a Jehovah's Witness Kingdom Hall in Gresham for a public memorial for Heichel.
Her husband, Clint Heichel, spoke to reporters outside the hall, saying the family wanted to "give the community a hug" and thank people for their kindness.
"She was just a ray of sunshine," he said.
In the hours after the young woman failed to show up for work at a Starbucks cafe on Oct. 16, relatives and friends launched a wide-ranging search. However, Holt, who was a neighbor, an acquaintance and attended the same church, was nowhere to be found, The Oregonian reported.
When friends finally spotted Holt nearly 12 hours later, court documents say he told them he had been on his way to work that day when he was robbed at gunpoint by two black men.
Holt didn't report that robbery to police that day but when questioned by officers for the first time on Oct. 17, he said he'd been shaken by the experience and spent the entire day walking and crying. Police say Holt repeatedly changed his story about the supposed robbery.
Whitney Heichel's Ford Explorer, with the passenger side window smashed, was found at a Walmart six hours after she disappeared, triggering an investigation that ended with the discovery of her body on Larch Mountain, east of Gresham, on the night of Oct. 19.
Court documents released earlier say that Holt told Oregon State Police Sgt. Jon Harrington that he waited outside Heichel's apartment and asked for a ride as she was leaving for work.
Minutes into the drive, he pulled a handgun and told her to drive to Roslyn Lake, the document said.
Holt then forced Heichel to perform oral sex before fatally shooting her, the affidavit stated, adding that Holt disposed of his cellphone at the lake before driving to the mountain to conceal the body.
Heichel was shot four times.
On Oct. 19, Jonathan Holt discarded one handgun in bushes at his north Portland workplace, according to documents released Friday.
Investigators say he dropped another handgun in the grass outside the suburban Gresham Police Department, just before he entered for an interview at which police say he confessed to sexually abusing and killing Whitney Heichel of Gresham. Holt was arrested during that interview.
During a brief court appearance Friday, Holt, 25, was indicted on charges of kidnap, robbery and sodomy. He was earlier charged with aggravated murder.
Lawyer Conor Thomas Huseby, appointed to represent Holt, declined to answer questions.
Hundreds of people from around the Portland area gathered Friday at a Jehovah's Witness Kingdom Hall in Gresham for a public memorial for Heichel.
Her husband, Clint Heichel, spoke to reporters outside the hall, saying the family wanted to "give the community a hug" and thank people for their kindness.
"She was just a ray of sunshine," he said.
In the hours after the young woman failed to show up for work at a Starbucks cafe on Oct. 16, relatives and friends launched a wide-ranging search. However, Holt, who was a neighbor, an acquaintance and attended the same church, was nowhere to be found, The Oregonian reported.
When friends finally spotted Holt nearly 12 hours later, court documents say he told them he had been on his way to work that day when he was robbed at gunpoint by two black men.
Holt didn't report that robbery to police that day but when questioned by officers for the first time on Oct. 17, he said he'd been shaken by the experience and spent the entire day walking and crying. Police say Holt repeatedly changed his story about the supposed robbery.
Whitney Heichel's Ford Explorer, with the passenger side window smashed, was found at a Walmart six hours after she disappeared, triggering an investigation that ended with the discovery of her body on Larch Mountain, east of Gresham, on the night of Oct. 19.
Court documents released earlier say that Holt told Oregon State Police Sgt. Jon Harrington that he waited outside Heichel's apartment and asked for a ride as she was leaving for work.
Minutes into the drive, he pulled a handgun and told her to drive to Roslyn Lake, the document said.
Holt then forced Heichel to perform oral sex before fatally shooting her, the affidavit stated, adding that Holt disposed of his cellphone at the lake before driving to the mountain to conceal the body.
Heichel was shot four times.
Obviously guy with some serious issues.  As a Jehovah I'm going to assume they all feel she is in a better place right now cause I don't think I can handle the anger right now.  My heart goes out to her husband and family  Â
Glad this guy was stupid enough to get caught...I hope justice will come swiftly and surely for Whitney, her friends and family.
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I really didn't want or need to know specifically what he did to her, though- all it does is make me very, very angry and at the same time feel like it's an invasion of her privacy, even though Whitney is deceased.
 @WAbornnraised I didn't catch the details, are they in another article or did KOMO drop them?
Hide the gun in the grass right outside the police station? Brilliant!
@I Like Meat ... this zombie is gonna have some real fun at the Graybar!!!!!!
For the sake of this poor girl's husband, we can do without the details of oral sex and sodomy.  A blanket statement of sexually assaulted will do for me.  This poor girl was held at gunpoint and told to drive into the remote woods.  I have never been in that situation and hope never to be, but  I would run my ford explorer into the first car or pole i saw in a crowded area.  This poor girl, she was so pretty and full of life, this guy was obviously obsessed with her.
 @keri555 Agreed, it will be out at trial...although I didn't see it anywhere in this article.Â
@teahater @keri555 Teahater,Looks like KOMO pulled the one story off the site.Komo crossed the line in this one.
@keri555 oral sex is sodomy, that is why he was charged with sodomy.Â
 @keri555 I initially thought that too, but they are probably getting even more details from the police.  But I agree we don't really need to know all the gory details, it's so gruesome.
@Doxie @keri555 ...KOMO intern reporters should show a bit more respect and delete the specifics in this case. Prayers to the family of this monster's victim.
 @keri555 Absolutely agree with your statement.Â
 @keri555 Komo, lets give details about criminals on the loose, and expose them, not victims.Â
Ah, the philosophers are out in force this morning. There's no higher calling in life than to honor the memory of the departed by using her demise as a convenient direction for venting our omnipresent but usually directionless issues of rage, social dysfunction, selective contempt for human life and corrective hindsight.
@wysoumible - Right back atcha. That logic applies to your posts as well and the next time you post, it will be remembered that it is merely you, finding a convenient direction for venting your omnipresent but usually directionless issues of rage, social dysfunction, selective contempt for human life and corrective hindsight.
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People who live in glass houses, shouldn't thrown stones.
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Just sayin' -
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While I agree that our society seems to be rapidly breaking down, public forums may be a healing factor in that people are communicating with one another about the things that touch our lives.Â
This is a healthy place to express outrage at the ghastly actions of our fellow humans.
@Smokin Bear ...Well said. :o\
@Smokin Bear You go, Bear!
@wysoumible @Tattooed_Angel @Smokin LOL!!! Too funny.Â
 @Tattooed_Angel  @Smokin Yeah! Yea, Bear! Protect us angry village mobsters! Tell us what to think, and defend our ignorance at all costs!! "I know you are but what am I?" Great stuff!! Pure gold!!!!
 @wysoumible I suppose we are not to have any contempt for a cowardly piece of garbage that ended the life of an innocent woman in an extremely sadistic manner?  If there wasn't rage and contempt for this guys life, that would be more of a concern.  We aren't a society programmed like the stepford wives.Â
You have to wonder what the #ell drove this moron. First, the only chance he had to get away with it was to kill her. He was willing to kill for a BJ? Willing to take anotherâs life for a moment of âpleasureâ? Second, it is almost impossible to get away with murder in this day and time. He was bound to be caught. The only thing worse, is when they use a child this way. This man has shown that he has no morals what so ever. He is so deprived that there is no reason to keep him around one minute longer than necessary to go from the courtroom to the execution chamber.  We, unfortunately, know that is not going to happen. Â
 @oldster70 in the good old days people would say he was possessed by Satan and hang him by a rope from the neck until dead. Today we would say the poor lad was emotionally disturbed and needed treatment before being returned to society to commit more horrific crimes against all humanity.
If any guy tried to force me to perform oral sex, I'd bite his freaking pickle off. Kill the bastard or leave his butt behind bars for good!
@Tattooed_Angel it is easy to say that when a gun isn't pressed to your head
@nomad Actually I think having a gun to my head would make me want to do it more. The fight or flight response kicks in and in that kind of situation I would suspect that there would be no chance that the perp would let me go unharmed so that would be my best chance at survival. Wait until he's a little off guard, bite his pickle off and at the same time try to get the gun. There's not really any other option.
 @nomad  @Tattooed_Angel I know it seems morbid to ever entertain this thought but you seriously have to think about situations like this in advance and formulate a basic plan. What do I do if...?
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Number 1 rule is to never, NEVER willingly go to another location from the original abduction. If you let the perp get you in an isolated area you're dead. If he is going to shoot you anyway make him do it in the middle of a busy intersection or parking lot. She had to have known that since she knew him and could easily point a finger at him that there was no way he was going to let her live. If you are going to go down you at least need to go down swinging and sometimes by refusing to let him control the situation you can throw him off enough to make a difference in the outcome.
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 @Petwlkr  @nomad  @Tattooed_AngelÂ
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bingo...& she could have baled in populous area, screamed/waved when the vehicle was stopped if she couldn't bring herself to in with it in motion....other person mentioned crashing it, but then an armed perp has nowhere to go but after victim: also, victim stands high chance of disabling self, namely broken legs, next to armed psycho...
 @Delesa Gotcha. I got thrown off when you called him an "accomplished liar". In my mind that would mean lying was something he was rather good at and this story seems to contradict that idea. Â
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Thats why I asked if perhaps you had some other inside info the rest of us weren't aware of that would indicate that this guy was good at the art of deception. I for one am glad that he was so horrible at covering his tracks and Whitney's family was able to have some closure quite quickly. Now lets get on with the trial and see if we can get some justice for them.
 @Petwlkr LOL, and NO I do not know him..
 @Petwlkr I didn't say anything except he APPEARS to be an accomplished liar, (not that I know for sure he is one) from what I read he told the police one lie after another, first about being robbed at gun point by 2 black men, when that didn't hold true, he said he was so up set over Whitneys disappearance, he said he just walked around crying, when they ask him where he was for those 12 hours, and I'm assuming that is when they became suspicious of him, (he kept changing his story) it said his wife was about ready to report him missing, and then he showed up, now mind you, I think this was right after Whitneys husband got the call from Starbucks informing him she never made it to work, don't ask me how, I do not have an answer, just what I read on KATU news.
 @Delesa Do you happen to know this guy or something? I am curious as to why you think he's such an accomplished liar?? I am not being sarcastic I am just wondering if you may have heard a part to this story that I haven't?
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From what I have read the Police zeroed in on him pretty quickly because nothing he was saying added up and his story about his whereabouts fell apart right from the start. Then when you factor in that he hid one gun where he worked and the other he threw in the bushes outside the Police station as he was on his way in to be questioned and it would appear to me the guy is pretty much a dim bulb.
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 @Petwlkr I totally agree with you, and you have some very valid questions, about slamming on the brakes etc. I don't know, but is it possible he took over the driving? like I said I don't know, it might have had something to do with her age, very young (21) and possibly very naive? just a trusting person, and as I said it is possible she though she might be able to talk him out of doing her harm, since they were aquainted and belonged to the same church, we will probably never know the whole truth of what happened that morning, I do know Holt appears to be a very accomplished liar, so I would not put a whole lot of trust in his version of events, it's a terrible thing, and you have good insite into protecting ones self, I have heard it is better to try not to  (if at all possible) be taken from point A to point B.
 @Delesa I understand why she let him in the truck to begin with. She did know both he and his wife and I had heard early on into the investigation that she had actually taken care of their cats and their plants while they were out of town. So you are right in the fact that initially she had no reason to suspect him when he approached and asked for a ride. But the story says within the first 5 minutes he pulled a gun and ordered her to drive to the lake. It is at that point that she HAD to have known she was in real danger and quit cooperating. She should have slammed on the brakes in the middle of the road, thrown the keys out of the window of the truck and start causing a scene. It was early morning rush hour; chances are he wasn't going to shoot her in full view of everybody else on the road not to mention all the traffic cams. But the minute she agreed to drive to a secluded area at his request she lost any chance she had at surviving.
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Believe me I completely understand being paralyzed with fear when there is a gun pointed at you; I have been there. That's why the point of my post was that despite how gloom and doom it may seem to do so; it is very important to have a basic game plan already worked out on how to handle these life and death situations. What do I do if some clown tries to force me leave a populated area with him? What do I do if I find myself in a car that is sinking? What do I do if the dwelling I am in is on fire? You can't possibly foresee every situation that might come up and of course even the best laid plans can go awry but it goes along way towards swinging the odds in your favor if you have already formulated a basic idea on how to survive what is happening to you. The time to do that is NOT when you are in the middle of the situation and so scared you can't possible think straight.
 @Petwlkr He was a neighbor, I'm sure she had no clue that morning he ask her for a ride, it would turn out like it did, he didn't take her to another location until after he had her at gun point, she had no way of knowing he was going to do that, from the pictures she was very small, and he out weighed her by a lot, plus having a gun, they attended the same church, and they (Whitney & her Husband) were friends, as well as neighbors with him (Holt) and his wife, so I don't think she was a bit suspicious of him, and given her faith, she probably thought she might be able to appeal to his spiritual side, who knows, just speculation on my part, but you are totally right in a different situation, about never willingly go to another location.
 @Tattooed_Angel I like to think that I'd do the same, but if he had a gun to my head, seems there'd be a 50-50 chance that he'd pull the trigger or be caught off guard long enough for me to run like hell. Of course, in the end, he shot her anyway.  :(
This guy is an idiot; either that or he wanted to get caught. I feel horrible for her family, not to mention the members of the church that both families attended. You have to wonder if they had any idea they had a monster in their midst?
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 @Petwlkr How can any of us know if we have a monster in our midst? a church is an open door for anyone to enter, a place where people can/should  feel safe, churches don't know until after it happens, what/if a monster my be hiding in the people who come threw the doors.
 @Delesa  @PetwlkrÂ
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A wolf in sheeps clothing.
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Beyond stupid.
Beyond hopeless.
Beyond pathetic.Â
Most of all, beyond SICK
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Only one verdict. Guilty. Only one sentence. Death.
 @Lin19 While that would most certainly be a suitable sentence, the Governor of Oregon has stated he will not allow any executions as long as he is the Governor. Guess even if the courts hand down a death sentence, he will commute it.
 @Veteran Perhaps by the time this goes to trial there will be a new governor.
I suppose they would see the error of their ways if Capital Punishment was their chief issue in making their vote. Not exactly the hot-topic issue people zero in on in Gov races. Shame, though - it should be no less important, just like DUI punishment... Should be right up there near the top...
 @al_wa The Oregon governor serves a 4 year term and his current term started in January of 2011. So that keeps him in office until January 2015. Maybe the good people of Oregon will see the error of their ways and the next governor will change this policy. Then all it takes is an appeal by the state.
likely this creep can explore his sodomy fixation in prison.
Sodomy? I really didn't think this could get any more tragic.
@SoTweetie for clarification, oral sex is sodomy.Â
Dust off and warm up the electric chair...........................................
I wish they had the chair here...too bad it's only the needle or the rope. @grogÂ
@DMT @grog I could be wrong, but I think that even the rope has been retired. Just the needle, and only rarely at that.