Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Murder of Whitney Heichel

Murder of Whitney Heichel

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Whitney Heichel
Whitney Heichel.png
DiedOctober 16, 2012 (aged 21)
Clackamas County, Oregon, U.S.
Cause of deathMurder by gunshot
Body discoveredOctober 19, 2012 in Larch Mountain, Multnomah County,Oregon, U.S.
Known forHomicide victim
Whitney Heichel (1991- October 16, 2012) was an American woman who was kidnapped and murdered in Clackamas County, Oregon. Heichel's disappearance reached international media, and her neighbor, Jonathan Holt, was later charged with her murder.[1]

Background[edit source]

Heichel, a twenty-one-year-old employee at Starbucks, left her apartment in Gresham, Oregon on October 16, 2012, shortly before 7am, with her husband, Clint Heichel still at home. After Heichel failed to arrive to work, her boss called and notified her husband, who then reported her missing at 10am.[2] Around 1pm, Heichel's black SUV was found abandoned in a Walmart parking lot in Troutdale, Oregon, near Interstate 84. The SUV had a smashed in window and mud on its tires,[2] and some of Heichel's belongings were found in a dumpster behind the Walmart.
Bank account records showed that Heichel's debit card had been used at two nearby gas stations within a period of eight minutes, and one gas station employee told police he remembered seeing Heichel in the car with an unidentified man in the driver's seat.[2]
On October 18, two children playing outside found Heichel's cell phone in bushes near an apartment complex in Troutdale.[3] Police, search crews, and members of Heichel's Jehovah's Witness church began searching rural areas outside of Portland, including Dodge Park andLarch Mountain, where evidence was reportedly recovered, including Heichel's Starbucks apron.[4]
On the night of October 19, 2012, Heichel's body was discovered in a wooded area on Larch Mountain.

Arrest and conviction[edit source]

Police arrested twenty-four-year-old Jonathan Holt with Heichel's murder shortly after her body was found. Holt was a neighbor of Heichel's, and an occasional attendee of her church.[5] Holt confessed to Heichel's murder, and had reportedly acted erratically toward police; before an interview with the Portland Police Department, prior to the discovery of Heichel's body, two detectives witnessed Holt dispose of two handguns in the bushes of the parking lot.[6]
In court documents, it was revealed that Holt had waited outside Heichel's apartment on the morning of October 16, and then asked her for a ride to a work. After entering Heichel's car, Holt held her at gunpoint. He then drove to the aforementioned gas stations before forcing Heichel to drive him around rural areas outside of Troutdale and Sandy. Holt took Heichel to a secluded area near Roslyn Lake, where he forced her to perform a sex act on him before shooting her multiple times.[7] In his confession, Holt also admitted to police to possessingchild pornography.[6]
After the discovery of Heichel's body, a public memorial was held at her church, as well as a candlelight ceremony outside of the Starbucks where she was employed.
On July 8, 2013, Holt was charged with three counts of aggravated murder, one count of kidnapping, and two counts of robbery in the first degree, and sentenced to life in prison without parole.[8][5]

References[edit source]

  1. Jump up^ Lupkin, Sidney (2012-10-20). "Whitney Heichel: Missing Oregon Barista Found Dead, Man Arrested". ABC News. Retrieved 2013-09-20.
  2. ^ Jump up to:a b c Dillon, Nancy (2012-10-17). "Starbucks barista Whitney Heichel missing, frantic search underway in Oregon". New York Daily News. Retrieved 2013-09-19.
  3. Jump up^ "Whitney Heichel's Cell Phone Found In Bushes: Clues Emerge As Police Search For Missing Oregon Woman". Huffington post. 2012-10-19. Retrieved 2013-09-19.
  4. Jump up^ Glynn, Casey (2012-10-18). "Whitney Heichel Missing: Police search park, mountain in Ore. barista's disappearance". CBS. Retrieved 2013-09-19.
  5. ^ Jump up to:a b Stine, Mara (2013-07-19). "Whitney Heichel's killer to spend life in prison". Portland Tribune. Retrieved 2013-09-19.
  6. ^ Jump up to:a b "Court docs: Holt ditched two handguns before meeting with detectives". Katu. 2012-10-26. Retrieved 2013-09-19.
  7. Jump up^ "Whitney Heichel murder autopsy shows barista died of multiple gunshot wounds". CBS. 2012-10-22. Retrieved 2013-09-19.
  8. Jump up^ "Holt admits killing Heichel, sentenced to life". Koin News. 2013-07-08. Retrieved 2013-09-19.


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