‘Justice and closure’ delayed? As victims’ families wait, C.O. murder cases can take years to go to trial
(Update: Adding video, comments by DA Steve Gunnels, father of Natasha Newby)
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – More than three years after the death of his daughter, a Bend father still waits for her accused killers to go on trial.
Natasha Newby and her fiancé, Ray Atkinson Jr., were victims of a double homicide August of 2020 in northeast Bend.
Newby’s father, David Newby, recently shared his frustration in an off-camera interview. He wants the two men charged over a year later in the murders – Kenneth Atkinson and Nathan Detroit – to go to prison.
"We just want justice and closure," Newby told us. "We want those guys to go to prison."
Then-DA John Hummel said after the arrests that Atkinson hired his nephew to kill his brother and Newby amid a dispute over their late father's $400,000 estate. He said the couple died of blunt force trauma.
The two defendants may be tried together, though that issue still has not been finally determined. Their trial has been delayed several times, and a Jan. 9 trial date also was canceled, while hearings on motions are set to begin in January and last for three weeks, Deschutes County Deputy District Attorney Matthew Nelson told NewsChannel 21.
District Attorney Steve Gunnels told us, "It’s very rare, actually, that a murder trial actually goes on its first trial setting."
“Typically, a murder case takes about two years to get to trial, and it can be a little bit more or a little bit less," he said. "I have one murder case that went to trial about eight years after the murder, and that was unusual. It had to do with the length of the investigation.”
The timelines may different, but the often extra wait for resolution has a common thread of complexity and caution.
“The major reason is preparation of the case," he said. "Murder cases are the most thoroughly investigated cases. They often have thousands of pages of police reports, crime lab reports, other investigative evidence that defense attorneys need to go through and know thoroughly.”
Haste to get to trial could prove very costly, for all involved.
“If that (prosecuting) attorney isn’t prepared for the trial, then the case is likely to get reversed, even if we get the conviction for murder -- and we’ll have to go through the trial again,” Gunnels said.
It's far from the only murder case that takes a long time to resolve, and the reasons can vary.
Alexander Smith, 22, of Redmond, pleaded not guilty last March to second-degree murder in the May 2022 killing of Tina Klein Lewis, 55, of Cloverdale. He is still undergoing mental health evaluations, and another "fitness to proceed" hearing is set for Nov. 27.
Nelson said, "The Smith case has been a bit delayed due to different findings by the court about Smith’s fitness for trial. The current finding is that he is able aid and assist in his defense and stand trial. Now the parties are having their experts conduct evaluations. This all, unfortunately, takes some time to complete."
