Family of Aron Christensen file lawsuit over ‘botched’ death investigation

The family of a hiker who was found dead with his puppy on a Washington State trail have filed a $20 million lawsuit and accused officials of botching the investigation into his mysterious death.

Music teacher Aron Christensen, 49, of Portland, Oregon, was found dead on the Walupt Lake hiking trail last August, along with his four-month-old puppy Buzzo, an Australian Shepherd.

Lewis County officials initially thought Christensen suffered a heart attack and fell on a stick, killing him and leaving his pup to die.

But the family say police appeared to have ignored vital piece evidence and claim the hiker had a gunshot wound and a bullet lodged in his chest, while Buzzo may have been shot or stabbed.

Another hiker has even come forward to admit firing a shot in the area that night, but despite that no charges have been filed.

Prosecutors cited a completely botched investigation by police into the death, according to The Wall Street Journal.

A local veterinarian has also now come forward to accuse officials of tampering with Buzzo’s body, after a gunshot wound was miraculously found on the dead pup.

Corey Christensen, the victim’s brother, claims the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office knowingly sabotaged the investigation, has called on the state to take over the case and finally give them closure.

“I thought I was going crazy for a while,” Corey told WSJ about the lack of answers and conflicting reports. “But there’s a difference between you being crazy and it driving you crazy.” 

The family’s nightmare began on August 19, 2022 when Christensen broke off from his friends’ hiking group in the Cascade Mountains for a 13-mile solo trek with his dog in tow.

In that area, Ethan Asbach, 19, had been hiking with his girlfriend en route to meet his father, as they were preparing to go bear hunting.

Asbach told police that sometime after 10 p.m., he heard growling from the trail and fired his gun at the animal “out of fear”, only to discover it was a dog and that a dead man was lying beside the animal.

“The bullet had went through the dog and into the guy and it all lines up ‘cause it was like a straight shot,” Asbach told police, according to a transcript of the call.

Asbach said he and his girlfriend then got lost in the woods before reaching his father and explaining what happened, but before Asbach could contact police, another hiker came across Christensen’s body the following day.

Deputy Andrew Scrivner arrived at the scene on August 20, after a woman named Wendy Tanner had sound the body and raised the alarm, frightened that a hiker had been shot on the trail.

But Scrivner allegedly told her no such thing occurred as he failed to find bullet wounds on the pup or any shell casings in the area, according to the police report.

Scrivner didn’t appear convinced himself, noting in his report of Christensen’s body: “It is difficult to tell if it was from a bullet or from a tree limb or stick that may have protruded into his body.”

Despite the doubt, Scrivner had the body removed, thus disturbing the crime scene. He wasn’t alerted to the fact a shot had been fired until Asbach’s father called in and described his son’s side of the story.

Confessing to the apparent shooting, Asbach told Scrivner: “I was just thinking about all the trouble that I’m getting everybody else into and not just myself, like, I am completely at fault. I pulled the trigger, I did that. I’m responsible, but it was my dad’s gun.”  

Corey said he hadn’t learned about Asbach’s claims until two weeks after his brother’s death, as the Lewis County Coroner’s office initially told him his brother suffered a heart attack. Lewis County Coroner Warren McLeod said one of his deputies made that call in error.

Forensic pathologist Megan Quinn also claimed that as she studied Christensen’s body, the sheriff’s office appeared set on having her fit their narrative that the hiker died of a heart attack, according to her interview with prosecutors.

When Quinn found Christensen’s heart appeared to have shown signs of a heart attack hours before his time of death, she noted investigators were quick to have her file that as the official cause of death despite the clear gunshot wound on the man’s body.

Her final report indicates Christensen was alive when the bullet struck him, listing his official cause of death as homicide due to a “gunshot wound of the chest.”

After finding out Asbach was involved and getting the official report, Corey said he waited for justice to take its course, but it never did.

Lewis County prosecutors told the family while they recommended manslaughter and animal cruelty charges against Asbach, they couldn’t actually file them because of mistakes by the sheriff’s office.

“The responding deputy made the obvious error when indicating detectives were not needed to respond to the report of a gunshot victim,” top prosecutor Jonathan Meyer wrote to the Christensens’ in April 13, 2023. “The old adage of ‘investigate it like it’s a homicide until it isn’t’ was not followed here.” 

Along with that heartbreaking news, the Christensens received another blow when conflicting reports came about the investigation over Buzzo’s death.

Despite Asbach’s claim that he shot the dog, local vet Brandy Fay determined the puppy died of a stab wound, and was shocked to hear Buzzo could have been shot.

Fay told WSJ the determination was impossible because there was no gunshot wound on the dog, but prosecutors advised that the sheriff’s office get a second opinion.

It was then determined that an exit wound was hidden under the pup’s fur, once again shocking Fay, who demanded to examine Buzzo, again.

Fay claims the exit wound had no bleeding around it, and suspects someone had created the wound after she made her first determination.

The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office denied allegations of knowingly sabotaging their investigation. Sheriff Rob Snaza, however, did admit to The Chronicle newspaper his deputy erred in his judgment of the case, but that the outcome remains the same.

“Do I wish it was different? Absolutely,” he said. “Would it change the outcome of the case? Absolutely not.”

The Sheriff’s Department declined to comment on the case pending litigation.

The Christensen family has now retained their own lawyer in their lawsuit against the Sheriff’s Office and vowed to finally get answers.

“We intend to move forward and do everything that we can to hold those who are responsible for Aron’s death accountable for their actions. We plan to bring them to justice, including those who have interfered in these pursuits,” the family said in a statement.

“We are heartbroken over their deaths and are devastated by the effects this ordeal has had on our family. The events that have occurred over the past seven months have devastated us, but we remain steadfast in our commitment to see this through.”