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Morris, accused of murder, is prepared to enter plea
By Joseph B. Frazier, Associated Press Writer
Monday, June 02, 2003 | No comments posted.
TILLAMOOK - Edward Morris, accused of murdering his pregnant wife and three children in the Tillamook State Forest in December, is scheduled to enter a plea today in Tillamook County Circuit Court.
The body of his wife, Renee, 31, was found by hunters Dec. 21. Those of his children, Bryant, 10, Alexis, 8, and Jonathan, 4, were found nearby later that day.
Morris was captured Jan. 4 in Baker City after a nationwide manhunt.
The plea had been scheduled for April 28 but was postponed by Judge David Hantke when Morris' defense team said it needed more time to evaluate state evidence and make their own assessment of the case.
Morris was arraigned Jan. 23 on seven counts of aggravated murder, one count for each victim and an additional count for each child; under Oregon law, the murder of a person under age 14 counts as a separate offense.
The bodies were found 30 miles east of Tillamook almost exactly a year after the discovery of those of the family of Christian Longo in coastal bays at Waldport and Newport to the south.
Longo, 29, was sentenced on April 16 to die by lethal injection for the murder of his wife and three children.
Morris' indictment did not contain any details about the deaths and court documents have remained sealed, so how the Morris family died and other details in the case have not been released.
It has not been revealed where Morris went during the two weeks he was on the run.
On March 25, co-defense attorney Glenn Faber filed a motion to bar a potential imposition of the death penalty, claiming that the indictment did not properly charge Morris with capital aggravated murder, but merely with aggravated murder.
The motion also contended that Oregon's death penalty is illegal and unconstitutional. Faber also filed a motion challenging the jury pool selection in Tillamook County.
Hantke has scheduled arguments for these motions for July 7.
The Morris family incident was the third family murder to shock Oregon in about 15 months.
In February of 2002 the family of Robert Bryant was found shot to death In McMinnville. Police say Bryant apparently killed his wife and four children with a shotgun then turned the weapon on himself.
The body of his wife, Renee, 31, was found by hunters Dec. 21. Those of his children, Bryant, 10, Alexis, 8, and Jonathan, 4, were found nearby later that day.
Morris was captured Jan. 4 in Baker City after a nationwide manhunt.
The plea had been scheduled for April 28 but was postponed by Judge David Hantke when Morris' defense team said it needed more time to evaluate state evidence and make their own assessment of the case.
Morris was arraigned Jan. 23 on seven counts of aggravated murder, one count for each victim and an additional count for each child; under Oregon law, the murder of a person under age 14 counts as a separate offense.
The bodies were found 30 miles east of Tillamook almost exactly a year after the discovery of those of the family of Christian Longo in coastal bays at Waldport and Newport to the south.
Longo, 29, was sentenced on April 16 to die by lethal injection for the murder of his wife and three children.
Morris' indictment did not contain any details about the deaths and court documents have remained sealed, so how the Morris family died and other details in the case have not been released.
It has not been revealed where Morris went during the two weeks he was on the run.
On March 25, co-defense attorney Glenn Faber filed a motion to bar a potential imposition of the death penalty, claiming that the indictment did not properly charge Morris with capital aggravated murder, but merely with aggravated murder.
The motion also contended that Oregon's death penalty is illegal and unconstitutional. Faber also filed a motion challenging the jury pool selection in Tillamook County.
Hantke has scheduled arguments for these motions for July 7.
The Morris family incident was the third family murder to shock Oregon in about 15 months.
In February of 2002 the family of Robert Bryant was found shot to death In McMinnville. Police say Bryant apparently killed his wife and four children with a shotgun then turned the weapon on himself.
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