OSP Investigating Interstate Shootings

The Oregon State Police is requesting the public's assistance in identifying the person(s) responsible for shooting at several vehicles on Interstate 5 between Roseburg and Grants Pass. 

In the last several weeks OSP has investigated 5 vehicles that have been struck by bullets on Interstate 5 between milepost 67 and 100.  No injuries have been reported.

If you are traveling in the area and believe your vehicle has been struck with a bullet please call 911, note the time, location and if possible continue out of the area.  

The OSP soon expanded the scope of their investigation. On Aug. 11, investigators requested the public's assistance in identifying the person (s) responsible for shooting at vehicles on Interstate 5 in Douglas, Josephine and Jackson Counties.

From the time of the first request for assistance on July 14, 2020 several additional vehicles have been confirmed to have been struck by bullets.

Previously only Douglas and Josephine Counties had confirmed bullet strikes. The geographic location has been expanded to include Jackson County.

No injuries have been reported.

If you are traveling on Interstate 5 and believe your vehicle has been struck with a bullet please call 911. Note the time, location and if possible continue out of the area.

If you have information regarding the shootings or if you believe your vehicle has been struck please contact the Oregon State Police Southern Command Center at 1-800-442-2068 or * OSP- Reference OSP Case #SP20-173444.

Highway snipers aren't something new. And, unfortunately, have been increasing over the last few years.

• During October 2002,  John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo, the D.C. or Beltway Snipers, carried out a series of coordinated shootings that occurred during three weeks in October 2002 in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia. Ten people were killed and three others were critically wounded in the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area and along Interstate 95 in Virginia.
• The Ohio highway sniper attacks were a series of 24 sniper attacks along Interstate 270 and other nearby highways in the central part of the U.S. state of Ohio (mostly around Columbus) against traffic, homes, and a vacant school building in the Hamilton Local School district in Obetz, Ohio. The shootings began in May 2003 and continued for several months. One person was killed (62-year-old Gail Knisley, killed on November 25, 2003), and the shootings caused widespread fear. The suspect, Charles A. McCoy Jr., was arrested in Las Vegas on March 17, 2004. McCoy, who had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in 1996, stood trial in 2005. The first trial with death penalty charges resulted in a hung jury on May 9, 2005, most likely due to McCoy's severe mental illness. Rather than face a retrial, McCoy accepted a plea arrangement where he avoided the death sentence. He was sentenced to 27 years in prison on August 9, 2005.
• The Phoenix freeway shootings, also known as the I-10 shootings, were a series of eleven incidents that occurred between August 27 and September 10, 2015, along Interstate 10 and State Route 202 in Phoenix, Arizona. Each incident resulted in projectile damage to cars, and one girl was injured. Leslie Allen Merritt, Jr. was arrested in Glendale on Sept. 18. Police initially claimed that Merritt held anti-government and anti-police views. One day after his arrest, police announced that they had linked the first four shootings to a pistol owned by Merritt. He was charged with fifteen felony counts, including carrying out a drive-by shooting, aggravated assault, unlawfully discharging a firearm, disorderly conduct, and endangerment; prosecutors also considered filing terrorism charges, but ultimately did not, as terrorism-related laws focused primarily on protecting public utilities and did not encompass freeway shootings. All charges were dropped in April 2016 and Merritt later filed a lawsuit against state officials. To date, no one else has been arrested and charged.
• Dale Hausner and Samuel Dieteman (also known as Serial Shooter) are two gunmen who committed multiple drive-by shootings in Phoenix, Arizona between May 2005 and August 2006. They targeted random pedestrians. The investigations were simultaneous to the search for the Baseline Killer, who was also committing random murders and sexual assaults in the Phoenix area. The Serial Shooters' last crime occurred July 30, 2006 in Mesa. According to police, Robin Blasnek, 22, was shot and killed at approximately 11:15 p.m. while walking from her parents' house to a friend's house after having an argument with her boyfriend. On August 3, Phoenix police released a statement linking Blasnek's murder to the Serial Shooter, citing forensic evidence and other similarities to the Serial Shooters' past crimes. Prior to that, they shot pedestrians, cyclists, dogs and horses. Phoenix police originally believed that the Serial Shooter was a single individual responsible for 4 murders and 25 shootings beginning in May 2005, and that a series of 13 shootings in the same area were the work of another offender. However, on July 11, 2006, investigators revealed that they believed the two series of shootings were related. Dieteman was sentenced to life imprisonment without possibility of parole. Hausner was sentenced to death, and committed suicide in prison. Investigators believe they were responsible for eight murders and at least 29 other shootings. The victims were: Other victims included: David Estrada, 20, shot to death on June 29, 2005. Nathaniel Shoffner, 44, murdered on Nov.11, 2005 while attempting to protect a dog from being shot. Jose Ortiz, 44, was murdered on Dec. 12, 2005. Marco Carillo, 28, murdered on Dec. 29, 2005. Claudia Gutierrez-Cruz, 20, shot and killed by Dieteman on May 2, 2006, as Hausner drove.
• The Maryvale serial shooter (also known as the Serial Street Shooter) is a serial killer who was linked to twelve separate shootings resulting in nine deaths and three injuries across Phoenix, Arizona in 2015 and 2016, mainly in the Maryvale neighborhood. On May 8, 2017, Aaron Saucedo was charged with the shootings and an additional two homicides.
• On May 4, 2018, Rex Whitmere Harbour went on a highway shooting spree -- fortunately, no one was killed. After the terrifying shooting spree Friday afternoon, which injured two people and left at least seven vehicles with bullet holes, Harbour killed himself.  According to law enforcement, Harbour perched himself on the side of Georgia 365, just outside Atlanta. Hiding in the wooded area made him harder to see, Hall County Sheriff Gerald Couch said. He had with him an small arsenal of at least five guns and more than 3,000 rounds of ammunition, the sheriff also reported.
• In April 2014, Mohammed Pedro Whitaker arrested as a suspect in as many as 12 highway shootings, a spree that has gripped the Kansas City area for a month. No one was killed in the shootings and three people were wounded. None of the injuries were life-threatening. Police say Whitaker fired shots at vehicles often before they reached a highway exit ramp. The FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and several local police departments cooperated in the investigation. The shooting started March 8 and the last reported incident was April 6. But it wasn’t until the following day that an analyst with the police department pointed out that the shootings could be the work of a serial shooter, prompting a wide investigation.

Enemies, Foreign And Domestic

What do you think? Will it come down to this?

I've provided the link at the bottom.

————

Dear General Milley: 

As chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, you are well aware of your duties in ordinary times: to serve as principal military advisor to the president of the United States, and to transmit the lawful orders of the president and Secretary of Defense to combatant commanders. In ordinary times, these duties are entirely consistent with your oath to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic…” 

We do not live in ordinary times. The president of the United States is actively subverting our electoral system, threatening to remain in office in defiance of our Constitution. In a few months’ time, you may have to choose between defying a lawless president or betraying your Constitutional oath. We write to assist you in thinking clearly about that choice. If Donald Trump refuses to leave office at the expiration of his constitutional term, the United States military must remove him by force, and you must give that order. 

Due to a dangerous confluence of circumstances, the once-unthinkable scenario of authoritarian rule in the United States is now a very real possibility. First, as Mr. Trump faces near certain electoral defeat, he is vigorously undermining public confidence in our elections. Second, Mr. Trump’s defeat would result in his facing not merely political ignominy, but also criminal charges. Third, Mr. Trump is assembling a private army capable of thwarting not only the will of the electorate but also the capacities of ordinary law enforcement. When these forces collide on January 20, 2021, the U.S. military will be the only institution capable of upholding our Constitutional order.

There can be little doubt that Mr. Trump is facing electoral defeat. More than 160,000 Americans have died from COVID 19, and that toll is likely to rise to 300,000 by November. One in ten U.S. workers is unemployed, and the U.S. economy in the last quarter suffered the greatest contraction in its history. Nearly 70 percent of Americans believe the country is on the wrong track. The Economist estimates that Mr. Trump’s chances of losing the election stand at 91 percent.   

Faced with these grim prospects, Mr. Trump has engaged in a systemic disinformation campaign to undermine public confidence in our elections. He has falsely claimed that mail-in voting is  “inaccurate and fraudulent.” He is actively sabotaging the U.S. Postal Service in an effort to delay and discredit mail-in votes. He has suggested delaying the 2020 election, despite lacking the authority to do so. 

The stakes of the 2020 election are especially high for Mr. Trump; in defeat, he will likely face criminal prosecution. The Manhattan District Attorney is investigating the Trump Organization for possible bank and insurance fraud related to the overvaluation of financial assets. New York’s Attorney General is conducting similar investigations, having successfully subpoenaed Trump’s financial records from Deutsche Bank. Mr. Trump allegedly pressured the U.S. ambassador to Great Britain to pressure the British Government to move the British Open golf tournament to Trump Turnberry Resort in Scotland. This incident is but one of many examples of self-dealing that may lead to federal criminal charges against the president.

Given this dizzying array of threats not merely to his political prospects, but also his liberty and wealth, Mr. Trump is following the playbook of dictators throughout history: he is building a private army answerable only to him. When Caesar faced the prospect of a trial in Rome, he did not return to face his day in court. He unleashed an army personally loyal to him alone on the Roman government. No student of history, Mr. Trump nevertheless appears to be following Caesar’s example. The president’s use of militarized Homeland Security agents against domestic political demonstrations constitutes the creation of a paramilitary force unaccountable to the public. The members of this private army, often lacking police insignia or other identification, exist not to enforce the law but to intimidate the president’s political opponents.

These powerful crosscurrents—Mr. Trump’s electoral defeat, his assault on the integrity of our elections, his impending criminal prosecution, and his creation of a private army—will collide on January 20. Rather than accept the peaceful transfer of power that has been the hallmark of American democracy since its inception. Mr. Trump may refuse to leave office. He would likely offer as a fig leaf of legitimacy the shopworn lies about election fraud. Mr. Trump’s acolytes in right-wing media will certainly rush to repeat and amplify these lies, manufacturing sufficient evidence to provide a pretext of plausibility. America’s greatest Constitutional crisis since the Civil War will come about by a president who simply refuses to leave office. 

America’s political and legal institutions have so atrophied that they are ill-prepared for this moment. Senate Republicans, already reduced to supplicant status, will remain silent and inert, as much to obscure their complicity as to retain their majority. The Democrat-led House of Representatives will certify the Electoral College results, which Mr. Trump will dismiss as fake news. The courts, flooded with cases from both Democrats and Mr. Trump’s legal team, will take months working through the docket, producing reasoned rulings that Trump will alternately appeal and ignore.

Then the clock will strike 12:01 PM, January 20, 2021, and Donald Trump will be sitting in the Oval Office. The street protests will inevitably swell outside the White House, and the ranks of Trump’s private army will grow inside its grounds. The speaker of the House will declare the Trump presidency at an end, and direct the Secret Service and Federal Marshals to remove Trump from the premises. These agents will realize that they are outmanned and outgunned by Trump’s private army, and the moment of decision will arrive.

At this moment of Constitutional crisis, only two options remain. Under the first, U.S. military forces escort the former president from the White House grounds. Trump’s little green men, so intimidating to lightly armed federal law enforcement agents, step aside and fade away, realizing they would not constitute a good morning’s work for a brigade of the 82nd Airborne. Under the second, the U.S. military remains inert while the Constitution dies. The succession of government is determined by extralegal violence between Trump’s private army and street protesters; Black Lives Matter Plaza becomes Tahrir Square.

As the senior military officer of the United States, the choice between these two options lies with you. In the Constitutional crisis described above, your duty is to give unambiguous orders directing U.S. military forces to support the Constitutional transfer of power. Should you remain silent, you will be complicit in a coup d’état. You were rightly criticized for your prior active complicity in the president’s use of force against peaceful protesters in Lafayette Square. Your passive complicity in an extralegal seizure of political power would be far worse. 

For 240 years, the United States has been spared the horror of violent political succession. Imperfect though it may be, our Union has been moving toward greater perfection, from one peaceful transfer of power to the next. The rule of law created by our Constitution has made this miracle possible. However, our Constitutional order is not self-sustaining. Throughout our history, Americans have laid down their lives so that this form of government may endure. Continuing the unfinished work for which these heroes fell now falls to you. 

Lest you forget: 

“I, Mark A. Milley, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.”

The fate of our Republic may well depend upon your adherence to this oath. 

Respectfully yours,

John Nagl and Paul Yingling

John Nagl, a retired Army officer and veteran of both Iraq wars, is Head of School at The Haverford School outside Philadelphia.P

Paul Yingling, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel, served three tours in Iraq, another in Bosnia, and a fifth in Operation Desert Storm.

Source: Defense One Article 

The Myth Of An Elusive State Of Jefferson

By Brad Smith

EUGENE, Ore. -- In John Ford’s classic Western, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, there’s the famous quote uttered by a reporter, “This is the West, sir. When legend becomes fact – print the legend.”

In essence, that line neatly sums up stories surrounding the 1941 “State of Jefferson” movement.

According to Peter Laufer, who is the James Wallace Chair in Journalism at the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication as well as has worked as a journalist for several years, asserts in his 2013 book, The Elusive State of Jefferson, that the short-lived 1941 Jefferson statehood movement was nothing but a publicity stunt – one that some have taken too seriously more than 79 years later. “Did those people have legitimate complaints back then,” he said. “Yes. They were angry, frustrated and wanted action taken. In order for that to happen, they had to gain some media attention.”

For years, Laufer explained, there has been the “legend of the State of Jefferson.”

“It’s been this idea of these rugged individualists wanting to go it alone, who had this dream of carving out a new state and a better way of life,” he said. “The reality is you had a bunch of people who knew that statehood would never happen yet they could get what they wanted if they could create uproar.That is right. It was never the 1941 Jefferson movement’s intention to breakaway from both Oregon and California.As the story goes, in late 1941, Gilbert Gable, recently elected mayor of Port Orford, was frustrated by what he perceived as the Salem legislature ignoring the needs of rural Oregon and its smaller communities. Gable, who referred to himself as the “hick mayor of the westernmost United States,” hatched a scheme. He was a seasoned radio personality and perceptive, then he found kindred spirits with a pair of Californians, John C. Childs, a Crescent City judge and state senator Randolph Collier. The three men knew that a number of people living in southern Oregon and northern California were ripe for a little revolution.

“Gable and the others just wanted to stir the pot,” Laufer said.

Gable reached out to the surrounding region. Klamath County declared that they would “rather join Portugal” than join the Jefferson movement. However, with promises of things such as promises of eschewing taxes on such things as liquor, sales and income,  other counties voiced their support.

The secession movement soon had their own flag, the “Dos Equi:” A gold pan covered with a pair of X’s. The message, Laufer said, was simple: People felt double-crossed by both Salem and Sacramento.

“Things were set in motion,” he said. “All Gilbert Gable and his cohorts needed was some media attention. People  got excited but then felt that nothing would come of it. Interest was lagging.”

Then, on a cold November night, members of Yreka’s 20-30 Club – a social club where local men gathered to smoke, drink, play cards, play pool – armed themselves and blockaded roads. They told drivers “Jefferson, as a defense-minded State, will be forced to rebel,” revolting against both Oregon and California.

“Some local historians have said that these guys were a bit drunk and it was a half-serious effort,” Laufer said. “However, it was more than enough for the media to notice.”

That is when Stanton Delaplane, a San Francisco Chronicle reporter, traveled to the region to cover the secession movement. Delaplane, Laufer added, was the kind of journalist who felt there were no such things as slow news days.“Only slow news reporters,” he said.

Delaplane when he arrived, found a number of highly energetic people but lacking vision. Laufer said that the reporter “took a liking” to Gable and those involved. “Essentially, (Delaplane) knew that he was literally sitting on a gold mine. What he found was the beginning of a fascinating story – but knew that it needed ‘nurturing.’”

Nurture it, Delaplane did. In the late 1970s, he admitted in interviews that his articles were not only “heavily embellished” but also gave the secessionists ideas on what to do. “The State of Jefferson movement became a media circus,” Laufer said, “with Delaplane, more or less, the ringmaster. His articles fired up both readers across the nation and the movement too. He made it seem like Jefferson could really happen.”

However, like Gable and a few others, Delaplane knew that statehood would never happen. “There was no way in hell that either Salem or Sacramento would allow it,” Laufer explained. “It goes back to the plan: Shake things up enough to the point that the state governments would relent and fix the roads and yield to the other demands. It was big publicity stunt.”

The local media got into it. According to Laufer, when word that newsreel crews would descend upon Yreka to film pro-Jefferson rallies, The Siskiyou Daily News and other area newspapers urged locals to dress up and instructed them on how to act in front of the cameras. Laufer even felt many pictures of Jefferson patriots and their roadblocks were staged as well. “There was a lot of ballyhoo,” he said. “It made for great press and it’s fun to watch that newsreel footage now. It worked, it got what Gilbert and the ringleaders wanted and Delaplane helped: It stirred the pot.”

According to Jefferson legend, the movement took a hit when Gable died on Dec. 2.

“Some have said it was a heart attack,” Laufer said. “However, there’s a story that Delaplane went to visit the mayor and spent the night drinking. Heavy drinking. All of that binge drinking killed Gable.”

The SOJ leadership reacted quickly to fill the void left by Gable's death. Childs was proclaimed governor of Jefferson, with much media fanfare. However, afterwards, came the Japanese military’s Dec. 7 attack on Pearl Harbor. Again, legend has it that with America entering a world war, the movement came to a halt out of patriotism.

“Not so,” Laufer countered. “With the United States going to war, it needed a lot of resources and those resources were located in southern Oregon and northern California. New roads were built. Both the state and federal governments pumped a lot of money into the region. They got what they wanted.”

Delaplane also got what he wanted – in 1942, he won the Pulitzer Prize for his State of Jefferson “reporting.”

“In the end, people walked away with what they wanted,” Laufer said. “From that point on, Jefferson’s legend took on a life of its own and faded into obscurity. Now, thanks to the Sagebrush Rebellion and the sovereign citizen and constitutional sheriff movements, it’s starting up again. You have people claiming they support Jefferson for one reason yet there might other agendas playing into it.”

The State of Jefferson’s legend continues.

Different groups, different agendas.

POV: It's Not The Flu . . . .

It's not the flu.

Face it. There are a lot of idiots in the United States who think Covid-19 is no worse than the common flu.

We're fighting both a pandemic and a lot of knuckle dragging inbred monosynaptic decerebrates.

-30-

RFP Fact Checker: Trump Ignored Obama Pandemic Plan

I saw someone in a Josephine County chat group claim there wasn't a pandemic response plan ready or in place.

Wrong.

https://khn.org/news/evidence-shows-obama-team-left-a-pandemic-game-plan-for-trump-administration/

RFP Fact Checker: Chicago & Guns

 There are no gun shops in Chicago -- but the city is inundated with firearms.

Chicago does not have the highest per capita murder rate in the country -- usually that falls to Baltimore or St. Louis. That said, Chicago becomes the focal point of the national gun debate.

"Look at Chicago," some say. "It has one of the strictest gun laws in the country but it has a lot of gun violence."

The reality is this: According to reports issued by both Chicago law enforcement and the FBI, many guns used in crimes come from other jurisdictions. About six in ten “crime guns” seized by Chicago Police Dept. originated from gun shops outside of Illinois, according to a 2017 report issued by the department. Crime guns are defined by law enforcement as those that are “illegally possessed, used, or suspected to be used in furtherance of a crime.”

In about 95 percent of cases, the person found in possession of a crime gun is not the original purchaser of the weapon, the report said.

The Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence ranks Illinois’ gun laws as the eighth toughest in the country. The state requires citizens to have a permit to buy firearms and to report stolen or lost guns. Residents who want to sell their guns privately are also required to solicit a background check from state officials and to submit documentation of the sale.

No such laws exist in neighboring states such as Indiana, making them a target for traffickers seeking to sell weapons on the black market in Chicago.

About 21 percent of guns confiscated by police in Chicago are traced back to gun shops across the border in Indiana, a short drive from the city.

After conducting gun offender surveys and crime analysis, the CPD concluded that “states with lax gun laws like Indiana and Mississippi are a primary target for gang members and their gun trafficker source buyers.”

The CPD’s report identifies a number of specific gun shops in Indiana and the suburbs of Illinois that supply the largest number of guns that end up being seized by police.

Robberies of gun shops also play a small role in supplying the guns on Chicago’s black market. According to a report from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, 280 guns were stolen from licensed dealers in Illinois in 2016, and 197 were stolen in Indiana. But even if all 477 of these guns ended up on the streets of Chicago, they would only account for a small fraction of over 6,000 guns seized by police that year.

So, the next time someone mentions Chicago, its gun laws and gun violence, you can educate them about the reality of the situation.

Sources:

https://www.nationalreview.com/2020/07/the-chicago-gun-myth/

https://apnews.com/64e34cffb7db4dc7bf9bcda2ea201ea7

https://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/2019/08/29/dixie-pipeline-guns-from-mississippi-streets-chicago-crime-violence-gangs-trafficking/1898930001/

https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/national-international/chicago-gun-trace-report-2017/27140/

The White Queen Murders

A Chapter of Local History Some Might Want Forgotten

By

Brad Smith

"I do not value human life very much. My feeling is the only thing wrong with the planet is there's people on it. If not for us, all the other animals, even dodo birds, would be here." -- Susan Monica during her videotaped interrogation.

Contrary to a popular belief held by some, small rural communities aren't utopias.

Take Wimer, for example.

On the surface, it does look like an idyllic wilderness with quaint houses and jovial folks.

Reality check: Most days, it's the Florida of Southern Oregon.

It's an unincorporated community in the Evans Valley area, north of Rogue River. For over the last one hundred plus years, Wimer has attracted a wide variety of people: Lumberjacks, prospectors and settlers to out of state retirees, cannabis farmers, hippies, sovereign citizens and oh so many others. The local community social media platforms are filled with people complaining about speeding and tailgating or upset about gunshots and tannerite devices being set off.

And, you'll find people online vigorously supporting those aforementioned activities.

Wimer has problems with drugs. Crime. Child and spousal abuse. Murder.

Especially murder.

Especially the Pig Farm Killer AKA Susan Monica.

In January 2014, Wimer residents and those in nearby Rogue River were shocked to discover that one of their own had some grisly secrets. That's when Susan Monica, then 65, an eccentric woman who sometimes kept to herself and was rumored of having a volatile temper, was arrested for double homicide. According to information from the Dept. of Veterans Affairs, was Monica was born on July 8, 1948 as Steven Buchanan and enlisted in the Navy during the Vietnam War.

Following an honorable discharge, she began living as a woman, calling herself Susan Monica. She would eventually leave California, moving to the Wimer area.

According to Jackson Co. Sheriff's Office (JCSO) Det. Julie Denney, Monica's arrest came after deputies discovered human remains on her 20-acre ranch located at 9184 West Evans Creek Road. Initially, Monica was arrested earlier that day, Jan. 10, for theft and identity theft.

That all changed after the deputies' discovery at her ranch.

Denney stated that on Jan. 1, the family of Robert Haney contacted the JCSO to file a missing person's report. Haney's family were concerned for some time: They hadn't seen or heard from Haney for a number of months. Denney said that in such cases, any bank or special accounts in the person's name are checked.

In this case, it was Haney's Oregon Trail EBT card. Detectives found that it was still active, albeit in Monica's possession. While she was questioned, deputies went to the ranch. At some point in their search, Denney said deputies made the grisly discovery: The remains of two human bodies in a pigpen. One of them, Denney told local media, was believed to be Haney's.

“Deputy Medical Examiner Eric Fox is still trying to determine (the corpse's) identity, but, we're fairly confident that the body is Robert Haney.” She added that Haney was allegedly murdered on or about Sept. 9, 2013. The other victim is believed to have been killed on or about Aug. 1, 2012.

Oregon State Police (OSP) criminalists later identified the other victim’s remains as being Stephen Frank Delicino, 59, who lived along the 7000 block of Pleasant Creek Rd. in Wimer. Like Haney, he had family living in the area and despite being missing for nearly two years, no one filed a missing person's report.

JCSO investigators and other law enforcement agencies quickly descended upon Monica's ranch, including the OSP's mobile forensics unit. Even before that happened, the rumors started.

Again, both Wimer and Rogue River are small communities and it didn't take long for gossip to stir up some hysteria. For Bill Fuller, who had been Evans Valley Fire District 6 chief at the time, it was bewildering.

“I've known Susan for some time,” he said. “She did some work for us on the fire station. She did a lot of work for people in the area.”

White Queen Construction. That was Monica's company. She was known for her metalworking and many still say she was very good at it. While in the Navy, she had been trained as a welder. She did a lot of work for people in the area; her 20-acre property was a like a compound, with a barn, outbuildings and a few vehicles. There was a camper trailer on the property -- that's where those who worked for her lived. According to some, she wanted to build an underground home.

"It was going to be like a bunker," one person said.

Monica was two inches shy of six feet tall and often wore overalls, a jacket and a hat. While some described her as being soft-spoken, she could be an imposing figure. She was often bald and it was rumored that it was cancer. During her early court appearances, Monica wore a wig; a stylist reportedly came in to improve her appearance for the trial.

It was a common sight, Monica driving around her beat up pickup, with two men -- her hired help.

She lived in the barn and shared it with the pigs. Her metal shop was located there as well. Someone once described it as "one hell of a mess."

Fuller said that the murder allegations had caught him off guard. “Everyone in Wimer has been talking about it,” he said. “A number of people are shocked. I never felt threatened by her and I know of others who felt that way. Still, the rumors are flying all over the place.”

Some of the rumors were:

• A human skull was found in a pigpen.

• The two dead men were fed to pigs.

• In a fit of anger over money, Monica fired a gun at somebody.

• Monica reportedly shot and killed a roommate's pet dog, then fed it to the pigs.

• Monica was originally a man and had an operation.

• Monica was a drag queen – and that's how her business name, “White Queen,” came about.

• Due to lack of evidence, Monica has been released from jail.

• And, outrageously, that more than 30 Hispanic workers have disappeared over the years, all of them falling victim to Monica and her pigs.

At the time, there were rumors of a serial killer stalking transients across the California border in Siskiyou County. Local Internet detectives claimed Monica was behind them too -- despite the fact Californian authorities denied the serial killer story. And, many claimed the cops would find mass graves, filled with Monica's unfortunate victims.

 “I look at it this way,” Fuller said, “we really don't know what happened out there. We don't know how those men died. I haven't seen the autopsy and I bet a lot of these people behind the rumors haven't seen the autopsy either. And, if they found more bodies – then the charges would have reflected that.”

Fuller said that he doesn't like seeing a person being tried by rumor or public opinion. “Innocent until proven guilty. That's how it's suppose to be,” he said. “That's how I'm looking at it.”

However, he also sees the point of view of the families involved.

“I understand their side, too. Speaking as a parent, if I had a kid involved in something like this,” he said, “I would hope that the police and the courts would do their very best to resolve it. Do I feel sorry for everyone involved? Yeah, I do.”

Fuller said he listened to the rumors but knew that the truth would eventually come out. “One way or another, it'll come out in court,” he said. “It may take months but I feel that the truth will come out. Meantime, people in Wimer want this to go away – I know some of them do. But, I don't think it'll be that easy.”

She pleaded not guilty to a pair of murder charges and first-degree corpse abuse counts during a Jan. 21 televised court appearance. Against the judge’s – and her attorneys’ – wishes, Monica made a statement, in which she asked that someone would donate money to have all of her hogs slaughtered and the meat donated to the Rogue River Community Center.

Monica was known to donate her pigs to local food banks. That rattled many in the area. As Ken Goddard, director of the world's only wildlife forensics lab located in Ashland, Ore., said, "Pigs are like humans. When they eat something, it's broken down into protein. Protein is protein -- we don't have the technology to discern what the protein's source is.

"Besides, pigs eating humans -- well, that's probably the most healthy thing they've ever eaten."

Monica's animals were later euthanized. And, some have said the pigs were in such poor shape that the food banks never used them.

Deputy District Attorney Allan Smith, Jackson County DA's Office, said that Monica's statements made to investigators were supported by the forensic evidence gathered by law enforcement agencies during their search of Monica’s property, which lasted for a number of weeks. Those statements and the forensic evidence, Smith said, were more than enough to find Monica guilty of murder. He added that both victims were shot in the head. She was charged with:

        

• Count One – Murder of another human being committed on or about Aug. 1, 2012.

• Count Two – Murder of another human being committed on or about Sept. 9, 2013.

• Count Three – Abuse of a Corpse in the First Degree by mutilating or dismembering a corpse, committed on or about Aug. 1, 2012.

• Count Four – Abuse of a Corpse in the First Degree by mutilating or dismembering a corpse, committed on or about Sept. 9, 2013.

• Count Five – Identity Theft by unlawfully possessing, with the intent to deceive or defraud, the personal identification of Robert Haney committed on or about Sept. 9, 2013.  

Monica was found guilty on all counts on April 21, 2015. The trial lasted six days and the jury's deliberation lasted only an hour. The trial was reported on not only by local and regional media outlets, but even Great Britain's Daily Mail covered it, using a Google Earth map of Monica's ranch property.

During the trial, in between emotional outbursts from Monica, she cross-examined witnesses including Henderson. Christine Herbert was her attorney and Monica clashed with her a number of times.

"That was a mistake," Smith said. "I'll never allow that to happen again."

Facts that came out included:

• Monica did shoot Stephen Delicino, 59, in August 2012 and Robert Haney, 56, in September 2013. After which, in both cases, she fed the bodies to her pigs

• Monica reportedly told investigators that (Delicino) had died by suicide, shooting himself in the head five times. She later admitted that there had been an argument between her and the victim, which led to a struggle. Monica then shot Delicino in the head, five times with a pistol and used a rifle, shooting him twice.

• Jordan Farris, a Jackson County Jail inmate testified on April 20 that Monica had confessed to her that (Monica) had used a shotgun on Haney and then fed him to pigs.  During Farris’ birthday, Monica allegedly gave her a birthday card, signed “Happy birthday from the sweetest murderer in Jackson County, Susan Monica.”

• At Monica’s ranch property, located at the 9100 block of West Evans Creek Rd., forensic techs, investigators and others spent more than 1,000 hours searching, with more than 135 holes dug throughout the property.

• During his testimony, Major Crimes Det. Eric Fox, from the Jackson County Sheriff's Office (JCSO) testified that he found a pile of dirty black trash bags. Checking them, Fox discovered human remains.

• Claiming her constitutional rights, Monica has been acting in her own defense, cross-examining investigators and sometimes even being argumentative. She’s also displayed a number of emotional outbursts.

• At one point, Monica reportedly maintained that Haney had been attacked by the pigs and she shot him, claiming mercy-killing.

• The murders’ details have been described as “grisly and gory,” had a visible impact on victim’s families.

• Monica, in interviews with investigators, spoke of joking about feeding people to her pigs. “The joke had become a reality,” she said. Monica also spoke of having mental issues or “the stupid thing in my brain.”

• Witnesses haven’t appeared. On April 20, four prosecution witnesses didn’t appear and Judge Tim Barnack eventually shutdown Monday’s proceedings.

• JCSO Det. Eric Henderson presented a pair of shotguns Monica had reportedly pawned a few days before her arrest. It hadn’t been determined if either weapon was used on Haney.

• Haney’s son, Jesse, told the court that after two months of not hearing from his father, he went to Monica’s property. He had a feeling that something was wrong. “He left behind everything he owned,” he said. “His motorcycle and pickup. His tools. His favorite leather jacket. It just didn’t make any sense. I knew something was wrong.”

Ironically, Monica was the victim of identity theft herself. She was upset about an apparent break-in on her property. Herbert reported Monica’s credit cards and other information had been stolen recently. The JCSO was notified and investigated the case. An arrest was later made.

She was sentenced to 50 years for those crimes and is currently at the Coffee Creek correctional facility near Wilsonville. Given her age, it's likely she will die behind bars.

Almost a year ago, Monica started fighting her conviction. Smith confirmed that Monica had filed for a post-trial conviction motion. “I know that she had a hearing on Aug. 20,” he said. “Another one is scheduled for Sept. 20. I’m not surprised that she’s doing this. It happens often and is one of those last ditch efforts some will try.”

He added that the DA’s Office isn’t involved. "That's the state's Dept. of Justice office, not us. Not our problem."

Law enforcement officers never found more bodies at Monica's ranch. Investigators did look into missing persons cases recorded throughout Jackson County, just in case Monica could have been connected.

"We didn't find anything," a JCSO source said. "We did think about checking Josephine County's cases but the JoCo sheriff's office wasn't able to help us at the time. So, yeah, it's possible more cases are out there."

A friend of Monica's now owns the property. Her legal maneuvers have stalled out. Surprisingly, her life story hasn't popped up as a Lifetime made for TV movie or a docuseries similar to Tiger King. Barring a stroke of luck or a death bed confession from Monica, it's hard to know if any JoCo unsolved missing persons will ever be linked to her.

In time, she might become a local urban legend. Some still believe the rumors and think the cops overlooked some dead bodies on the ranch property. Some think the ghosts of her victims roam the property as well.

Yes, she's known as the Pig Farm Killer on the Internet.

On Aug. 26, 2022, the property was listed for sale with an initial price of  $475,000.

For now, the White Queen is in prison and will be there for the rest of her life. Life in Wimer goes on, ever the chaotic soap opera played out via social media.

So it goes.

Until another bizarre homicide happens . . . .

Gold Hill City Council Dodges A Bullet

 Deb West's Bid For Interim Mayor Shutdown

By Brad Smith

GOLD HILL, Ore. -- Mayor pro tem Brad Studebaker and the city council addressed a few "housekeeping issues" during their Aug. 3 meeting, city manager/recorder Jessica Simpson said.

As with the previous meetings held since the Covid-19 pandemic started earlier this year, the meeting was webcast via the city's YouTube channel. Councilors Janet Wilson, Melia Biedscheid, Bill Rigney and Danielle Hinkley were present at the meeting -- councilor Ron Palmer wasn't present but Wilson had his proxy votes.

The matter of the municipal court came up. For nearly two years, Gold Hill residents have wanted the municipal court brought back. When Harry Staven was city manager, he reportedly made the court and looking for a judge a priority.

After Staven's departure -- it turned out he had a long history of being fired after allegations of misconduct and aggressive behavior aimed at city employees -- Simpson stepped up and finally found a judge: Local attorney Jennifer Zammetti was sworn in a few weeks ago. The city's new accounting software, Simpson said, would help the court with assessing fines and the like.

However, there was a snag, she said.

"Our municipal code book is very out of date," Simpson said. "People want the court to enforce numerous violations and levy fines. Well, as it's written now, our codes won't allow that. When someone started this process, they didn't do the proper research. This should have been taken care in the beginning."

Studebaker asked if they had any options.

"I think I can speak with (Zammetti) and we can start updating the codes," Simpson said. "I think we should keep the court in place and once we have the code book updated, we'll be good to go."

Several weeks ago, Pete Newport stepped down as mayor, and Studebaker has stepped in as mayor pro tem. A notice did go out for citizens to apply as interim mayor -- and only one person applied.

Deb West.

Over the years, West has served on a number of committees and on the city council. She was a councilor until last year after she stepped down due to family issues. Her history with Gold Hill's politics is interesting, to say the least.

During the Monday meeting, West addressed Studebaker and the councilors, making her pitch to be the interim mayor. She listed her past experiences as a councilor and committee member, as well as answering questions from the councilors. Wilson was concerned about West's conduct in the past.

"She's left in the middle of meetings and been absent without notice a few times," she said. "I have to wonder about her commitment to the city."

West explained that due to family medical issues, that was why she was absent or under emotional duress. However, that was now different.

Studebaker was more direct.

"My concern is that (West) shows up here and wants this chair. She doesn't know what's going on and not up to speed on things," he said. "We can't afford that. We've got too much going on at the moment. I think that we can manage from here on."

Hinkley said she was concerned about no one filling Studebaker's chair with him being interim mayor.

"People voted you to represent them," she said. "With you not there. they don't have a voice."

Both Simpson and Studebaker said the seat can be filled.

"We've done it before and it's not a problem," Simpson said.

Biedscheid asked if Studebaker wanted to remain interim mayor until a new one is sworn in January 2021.

"Yes," he said.

Biedscheid made the motion to keep Studebaker as interim mayor and Rigney seconded it. She and Hinkley voted "no" while Rigney, Wilson and Palmer -- by proxy -- voted "yes."

An anonymous source said the city "dodged a bullet."

"West was a very nice person when she first moved here years ago," they said. "That all changed after she started working with them."

Them. That's what some in Gold Hill call the "unholy trio" of Christine Alford, Donna Silva and Chris Stanley. Alford has appeared in council chambers and verbally assaulted anyone who opposed her. She runs a Facebook group, where she makes more libelous comments and even outright lies, some Gold Hill citizens say.

When Rick Hohnbaum was city manager a few years ago, Stanley and Silva served on the council. They both used their private emails rather than official councilor email accounts -- they felt Hohnbaum might spy on them.

Which was interesting, since both Stanley and Silva made an effort of tracking Hohnbaum's movements and where he had lunch. They also accused him of holding unauthorized meetings.

In late 2014, West and former city recorder Mary Goddard accused Hohnbaum of harassment and inappropriate behavior.  During the investigation, Resource Assistance for Rural Environments (RARE) Community Development Coordinator Molly Bradley was asked several questions. Her answers went directly against the narrative that  Alford pushed for on social media. Irate, Alford went on her group's page and called Bradley "a rat" and made other negative comments about her.

"And, what did Deb and those others do? Nothing. Not a goddamned fucking thing," the source said. "Christine got really nasty and said some terrible things about Molly. Deb never called her out. No one did."

The source said they were glad about the council's vote.

"Gold Hill is on track, for the first time in years," the source said. "(Stanley) ran the city into the ground and we're recovering from that. We don't need Deb in City Hall. I think she's too much of a hypocrite: Look at how she treated Mike Bollweg (Bollweg's company, Southern Oregon Water Technology, oversees the city's water treatment plant). That plant was a fucking mess because of council mismanagement and ignoring gross incompetence from the employees at the time.

"Hohnbaum did the right thing by bringing in Mike. He's done a great job there. But, Deb has it out for him. You can hear that condescending tone in her voice whenever she talks to him. Deb -- along with Alford, Stanley and Silva -- have an agenda: They don't want the city to get better, they want to keep it down in the dumps and are opposed to any change. We don't need that now."

The source went even further.

"They do have a ally on the council. We know who it is. That mole, that's what I call them, is working with those four, they're just as nasty and condescending as the others. The city, again, is on the right track. Deb, this ally of theirs -- they will undo all that good work."

Gold Hill does have a long, sordid history of bad politics. Some will point the finger at Alford, Stanley, Silva and even West as the source of the problem.

Maybe they're right.

In the meantime, Simpson has proven herself to be more than capable of running the city -- and the council is doing its best to make their community a better place.

Gold Hill, after all this time, is finally on the right track.

Correction: Councilor Janet Wilson made the motion regarding Studebaker. The YouTube feed was buffering at the time, hence the confusion.