Opinion ID: 2590211
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Murder of Brian Whitcher

Text: In the early morning hours of November 24, 1982, a dead body later identified as that of Brian Whitcher was found south of Wilsonville, Oregon, on the fog line of Cambry-Hubbard Road, which runs parallel to Interstate 5. There was no belt in the victim's pants, and the victim's feet were bare. The body had been thrown from a moving vehicle. The cause of death was asphyxiation, and there was a ligature mark on the victim's neck about two and one-half inches long and one-half inch wide. Whitcher's blood contained alcohol (0.31 percent) and diazepam. Defendant was working at Peerless in Tualitin, Oregon, on November 23 and 24, 1982. He drove a rental car 232 miles during that period. A friend of Whitcher's, Earl Davis, last saw Whitcher around noon on November 23, 1982, at which time Whitcher was wearing a distinctive brown velour pullover Davis had purchased and later given to Whitcher. That pullover was later found in the garage of defendant's home. According to Davis, Whitcher occasionally smoked marijuana. The prosecutor argued to the jury that the entry PORTLAND HEAD on defendant's list referred to Brian Whitcher, in an apparent allusion to Whitcher's fondness for marijuana.