DA drops murder charge against Bend man in May stabbing death, says OSP Crime Lab tests failed to prove case

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – Murder and another criminal charge were dismissed Friday against a homeless Bend man arrested in the late-May stabbing death of another homeless man after Oregon State Police crime lab tests failed to provide conclusive evidence he was responsible, Deschutes County District Attorney Steve Gunnels said Friday.

A judge signed an order dismissing all charges against Brian Lee Wynn, 31, who had been indicted in June on charges of second-degree murder and unlawful use of a weapon – a knife – in the death of David Carroll Hickman, 62, whose body was found at his campsite behind a gas station on North Highway 97.

Gunnels said Bend Police detectives provided evidence to the OSP crime lab for forensic testing, which “did not provide conclusive evidence that Brian Lee Wynn is responsible for Hickman’s death.”

As a result, the DA’s office filed a motion and Circuit Judge Alycia Herriott signed an order dismissing the charges against Wynn, who was being released from the county jail Friday afternoon.

“The Bend Police investigation into Mr. Hickman’s homicide will continue, and additional forensic testing will be conducted,” Gunnels said in a news release

It was only on Wednesday that Judge Alycia Herriott had set an eight-day trial in the case for next Feb. 4.

Gunnels told NewsChannel 21, "The crime lab issued its report yesterday (Thursday), which led to this decision. The Bend Police detectives involved in this case are in agreement with this decision, based on the state of the evidence at present."