Detective says CRR double-homicide suspect admitted slayings
Crooked River Ranch resident Mitchell Julio Morris, 20, appeared Monday in Jefferson County Circuit Court on two counts of aggravated murder and other charges in the shooting deaths of his two roommates last Friday evening.
Morris appeared via video link from the jail and said little during the brief hearing, but a detective said in a court affidavit he confessed to the crimes shortly after his arrest Saturday in West Salem.
In court affidavit in support of Morris’s probable cause arrest, Deschutes County sheriff’s Detective Randall Zilk said he is responsible for Morris’s arrest.
“Mitchell Morris stated that the three of them had not been fighting or arguing prior to him shooting” the victims, the affidavit said.
According to Zilk, Morris told investigators he walked out of his bedroom and saw Southwick sitting on the couch. He then pointed the gun at him and shot him.
Lyman came out of her bedroom, and he “then turned the gun in Mackenzie’s direction and fired another shot, killing her.”
“Mitchell Morris said he then threw the gun down, packed a bag and left the residence in the Chevy pickup,” driving to Salem, where he stayed overnight before his arrest during a traffic stop Saturday.
Zilk said probable cause also exists for Morris to be charged with two counts each of murder and manslaughter, as well as two counts of unlawful use of a weapon. A grand jury is expected to review the case and issue an indictment before Friday’s scheduled arraignment,.
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Earlier story:
Morris was spotted, followed and arrested by Salem police Saturday morning in the Friday evening shooting deaths of Southwick and Lyman that he shared a home with, Oregon State Police said.
The two victims stated they were in a relationship on their public-facing Facebook pages. Lyman’s public info also indicates she has been in the Army since 2013 and went to South Salem High School and Chemeketa Community College. She had been in the relationship with Southwick for nearly a year..
Police had been searching for the 1989 Chevy S-10 pickup driven by Morris, seen leaving the home at 9021 SW Sand Ridge Road, Fugate said.
Around 11:20 a.m. Saturday, a Salem police officer spotted the pickup near downtown Salem, the lieutenant said.
The officer requested backup and followed the pickup to a parking lot in the 500 block of Wallace Road in West Salem. Police detained Morris without incident, Fugate said, adding that another male in the truck was not arrested and is cooperating with investigators.
Morris was booked into the Jefferson County Jail in Madras late Saturday night, held without bail on two counts of murder. He also faces two counts each of first-degree manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and unlawful use of a weapon, as well as a single count of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and OSP seeking the public’s assistance with any information on Morris’s whereabouts from Friday evening to the time of his arrest Saturday in Salem. Anyone with information was asked to call OSP at 503-375-3555.
Jefferson County sheriff’s deputies were dispatched around 6:50 p.m. Friday to the reported shooting that just occurred at the home in Crooked River Ranch, a sprawling, 10,000-acre rural subdivision north of Redmond, Fugate said.
OSP troopers also responded to the scene and found the two victims dead inside the home.
A person in the area who heard the gunshots saw a vehicle leaving the area, Fugate said. Police closed the road and conducted an extensive search in the area, as well as throughout Central Oregon, expanding into the Willamette Valley area, he added.
Neighbor Bob Rose said the couple had lived at the home for about a year and Morris moved in a few months ago. He described the suspect as “weird.”
“Yeah, he lived with them. Never talked to him,” Rose said. “He never acknowledged anybody He was just different. Like I said, he never socialized, never talked.”
Rose also said he was unaware of any issues involving the neighbors, making for a shock at the tragic news.
“Just right out of the blue,” he said. ” I could see if there was escalating problems you know, constant fighting and stuff like that. Nothing.”
Morris was driving a 1989 Chevy S-10 extended-cab pickup, red over black in color. OSP released a photo of the pickup but said it no longer has the canopy as shown.
“Morris is from the Polk County area and believed to have traveled there after the shooting,” Fugate said in a Saturday morning news release, adding that he “is to be considered armed and dangerous.” Anyone who saw Morris or his vehicle was advised not to approach but to instead call local police.
Jefferson County sheriff’s detectives and Oregon State Police worked through the night investigating the shooting at a home on the west side of CRR. Crime scene tape still blocked off the road several hours later.
