Latest news with #RobertAtrops
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Yahoo
Robert Atrops sentenced to life in prison for 1988 murder of estranged wife
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – was sentenced to life in prison Tuesday after he was found guilty of the murder of his estranged wife, Deborah Lee Atrops, in 1988. Robert Atrops, now 71, was in a Washington County Courtroom in April 2025 — more than 34 years after Deborah's body was found. On Tuesday, Atrops was sentenced to life in prison, with the possibility of parole after 25 years. This Oregon-made film from the 70s is getting its own TV series, reports say , the same night she was supposed to pick up her 8-month-old daughter from her estranged husband's residence in Sherwood. When she didn't arrive at the agreed-upon time between 7:30 and 8 p.m., her husband Robert filed a missing person report. The next day, her 1988 black Honda Accord was spotted at a dead end of Murray Road. The license plates were gone. The driver's window was rolled down. Police found her body in the trunk. Investigators said the position of her body inside the trunk indicated she was put there after she was killed. Witnesses said they noticed the car there early in the day on Nov. 30. A few days later, an autopsy revealed Deborah Atrops was physically assaulted and strangled to death. She was 30. The case went cold until the Washington County Cold Case Unit partnered with the Washington County Sheriff's Office to reinterview witnesses and re-examine forensic evidence. A trial for Atrops was set to begin last year but was in late October 2024. Atrops' attorney said he ended his life to avoid having police 'pin the murder on him,' but prosecutors combated the theory. 'You're going to hear that John Pearson had an alibi that night. that he fully cooperated with their investigation, and that there was no evidence that he was going to have any plans or contact,' Washington County prosecutor Allison Brown said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Hundreds of small earthquakes recorded in Mount Rainier swarm for first time since 2009
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Hundreds of small earthquakes have been detected at Mount Rainier in Washington in an earthquake swarm, the largest number seen in more than 15 years, according to geologists. The U.S. Geological Survey says the and started to detect the earthquakes just before 1:30 a.m. on Tuesday. Robert Atrops sentenced to life in prison for 1988 murder of estranged wife The earthquakes are currently numbering in the 'several hundred small events,' with the largest one reaching a 1.7-magnitude and the earthquakes hitting at depths of between 1.2 and 3.7 miles. 'Earthquake swarms are relatively common at Mount Rainier, typically occurring 1–2 times per year but usually with many fewer events than have been detected so far during the current swarm,' officials with USGS said in a . The last time , when the mountain saw more than 1,000 earthquakes in a three-day period, with the largest clocking a magnitude of 2.3. Homeowner scammed out of $33K by Silverton roofing contractor, police say So what's the cause of these earthquakes on Mount Rainier? 'Earthquake swarms like this have been attributed to circulation of hydrothermal fluids that are interacting with preexisting faults at shallow levels below the summit of the volcano,' according to USGS. Mount Rainier's GPS stations have not recorded any changes in ground deformation, which is a warning sign for potential eruption. Mount Rainier, which has the tallest Cascade Range peak at 14,409 feet, is listed as an 'active, ice-clad stratovolcano,' with strong geologic evidence of an eruption about 1,000 years ago. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Yahoo
Opening statements set for 1988 Atrops murder trial
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — When Deborah Lee Atrops was strangled to death, her body dumped in the trunk of her Honda Accord at a dead end of Murray Road, she left behind an 8-month-old daughter. She was only 30 when she died around November 29, 1988. For years, her murder was unsolved. Then in May 2021, the Washington County Cold Case Unit partnered with the Washington County Sheriff's Office to reinterview witnesses and re-examine forensic evidence in the case. In early 2023, a grand jury indicted her estranged husband, Robert Atrops, for second-degree Tuesday, opening statements are finally expected after jury selection began in mid-March. It's the second time this trial is set to begin. Opening statements were . But the trial was delayed after a key witness – and Deborah's former lover – committed suicide the week before when Arizona law enforcement tried to serve him with a material witness warrant, court documents said. Robert Atrops is now 71. The trial is expected to last 4-5 weeks. KOIN 6 News will continue to follow this trial. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
