A fugitive wanted for the killing of three people in Oregon turned himself in on Sunday after kidnapping a new victim and forcing her to drive to Wisconsin.
Thirty-year-old Oen Nicholson allegedly participated in a violent spree in North Bend, Oregon, Friday that led to the deaths of three people, shooting one and hitting another with a vehicle, according to police. Later that day, authorities found the body of Nicholson’s father, who owned the vehicle Nicholson allegedly used in the hit-and-run.
After the killings, Nicholson reportedly kidnapped Laura Johnson, 34, from Springfield, Oregon, and compelled her at gunpoint to drive to Wisconsin, KEZI reported.
“He approached her in her vehicle with a gun. They said she was forced to drive 33 hours to where they’re at. She was able to talk him into turning himself in,” Dennis Johnson, Laura Johnson’s father, said.
OREGON AUTHORITIES SEARCHING FOR SUSPECT AFTER THREE VICTIMS KILLED IN HIT-AND-RUN AND SHOOTING
At 10 a.m. local time on Friday, police found the body of Florida resident Anthony Oyster, 73, who had been hit by a truck at a recreational vehicle park in North Bend. Anthony Oyster’s wife, Linda Oyster, was in critical condition at a nearby hospital Friday after being hit in the crash.
Nicholson then went to a nearby cannabis shop, where he allegedly shot and killed the clerk, local resident Jennifer Davidson, 47, with a handgun before purchasing more ammunition at a sporting goods store, Coos County District Attorney Paul Frasier said.
After responding to the initial shooting, police returned to the RV park where the hit-and-run occurred and found the body of Nicholson’s father, 83-year-old Charles Nicholson, who owned the truck used in the crash, in a trailer also registered to the father, according to ABC News.
“Words fall short of describing the tragedy that took place on Friday and the ensuing events in Lane County, and we are all left incredibly shaken,” North Bend Mayor Jessica Engelke said in a news conference Sunday.
Laura Johnson’s family lost contact with her the same day when the suspect allegedly kidnapped her at gunpoint while she was on her lunch break from a Springfield Cabela’s. At 11 p.m. PST Friday, her father called the Cabela’s, and the owner said that Laura Johnson had not returned from her lunch break, leading her father to report her missing.
At around 6 a.m. PST on Sunday, Milwaukee police called the family, informing them that their daughter was safe and that the suspect was in custody.
Johnson flew home to her family on Sunday, and Frasier will file an extradition order to return Nicholson to Oregon, according to ABC News.
Nicholson is being charged with six counts of first-degree murder, one count of attempted second-degree murder, one count of second-degree assault, and two counts of failure to perform the duties of a driver to an injured person.
He is being held in Milwaukee with a $7 million bail, according to Frasier. If Nicholson consents to be extradited to Oregon, he will be brought back quickly. If not, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown will need to send a warrant to Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, requesting that he be sent back to Oregon, a process that can take several months, Frasier said.
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Nicholson’s motives for the killing spree remain unclear.
