Oregon kidnapping suspect murdered two men before turning gun on himself, police say
The kidnapping suspect who led authorities on a weeklong manhunt in southwest Oregon murdered two men before turning a gun on himself Tuesday evening, according to law enforcement officials.
Benjamin Foster, a 36-year-old man accused of torturing and imprisoning a woman, died of a gunshot wound to the head after a standoff with police in Grants Pass, Oregon.
As police searched for Foster, they discovered the bodies of Richard Lee Barron Jr. and Donald Owen Griffith, who had died from blunt force trauma some time between Monday afternoon and Tuesday evening. Foster is the primary suspect in their murders.
The manhunt for Foster began on Jan. 24, when police found a woman at a home who had been “bound and severely beaten into unconsciousness.”
WEST VIRGINIA MAN ACCUSED OF KIDNAPPING AND ‘BURNING’ WOMAN WITH TORCH: POLICE
Police released several photos of Foster, who they warned could be using online dating applications to try to evade authorities and find additional victims.
Authorities received a tip that Foster had returned to the home on Tuesday where the original victim was found.
They converged on the residence expecting a gunfight, but Foster eventually shot himself in the head with a .45-caliber pistol while wedged in the home’s crawlspace. He was later pronounced dead at a local hospital.
It wasn’t the first time that Foster was accused of holding someone captive. In 2019, his then-girlfriend was found unconscious with broken ribs, two black eyes, and other injuries after Foster held her captive for two weeks.
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He struck a deal with prosecutors to plead guilty to once felony count of battery and a misdemeanor count of battery constituting domestic violence in that case.
A judge sentenced him to between one and 2 1/2 years behind bars, but he was released on the day he was transferred to prison because he had already spent 729 days in jail awaiting trial.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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