Appeal Tribune Wednesday, October 4, 2017 3A
Morales trial set to begin Sept. 2018
The Marion County man accused of
murdering witness could face death penalty
WHITNEY M. WOODWORTH
STATESMAN JOURNAL
Almost three years after the body of a
Woodburn woman was discovered on a
rural road near Interstate 5, the man ac-
cused of murdering her is scheduled to
stand trial.
During his September 2018 trial, Saul
Octavio Morales, 29, could be facing the
death penalty, according to court rec-
ords.
If convicted and sentenced to death,
he would become Oregon's 35th person
on death row.
Morales, a former Salem and Hub-
bard resident with a rap sheet stretching
back to 2007, is accused of shooting and
killing Brenda Bautista, 36, who wit-
nessed one of his earlier crimes and tes-
tified against him, contributing to his
conviction.
A passerby discovered Bautista's
body on Pirelli Lane NE near Donald in
October 2015. An autopsy revealed she'd
be shot multiple times and left to die on
the rural gravel road.
The Marion County Sheriff's Office
began investigating Bautista's death as a
homicide.
A year later, their investigation led
them to arrest Morales.
Morales first recorded run-ins with
the law began in 2007, when he allegedly
tried to punch a rival gang member in the
face during a court hearing in Canby. Ac-
cording to an article by The
Oregonian/OregonLive, Morales, a gang
member who went by the street name
"Vicious" was arrested for disorderly
conduct.
Court records indict several other of
his crimes were gang-related, including
trespassing and unlawful use of a weap-
on.
In 2008, Morales was convicted of re-
sisting arrest and sentenced to 30 days
jail. Forty-five days later, he threatened
five people in Marion County with a gun.
He was arrested and convicted of unlaw-
ful use of a weapon and five counts of
recklessly endangering another person.
Bautista testified before a grand jury
as a witness to the crime.
The conviction led to a five-year pris-
on sentence for Morales — more than a
year of which he spent in disciplinary
segregation for multiple acts of miscon-
duct.
Shortly after his release, Morales was
arrested again on gun and methamphet-
amine possession charges during a Yam-
hill County drug sting and was sentenced
to another two years in the Oregon De-
partment of Corrections.
In 2016, a domestic vio-
lence conviction, during
which Morales assaulted
his girlfriend in front of
her young child, led to his
most recent 18-month pris-
Morales
on sentence at the Oregon
State Penitentiary.
Between his time in
prison, Morales allegedly
found Bautista and mur-
dered her.
Marion County detec-
tives searched for Bautis-
Brenda
ta's killer for months be-
Bautista
fore a warrant was issued
for Morales arrest on Oct. 20, 2016.
He was charged with murder with a
firearm, which if convicted, could lead to
a sentence ranging from 25 years to true
life in prison.
One month later, prosecutors filed a
motion to have the murder charged dis-
missed. The same day, Morales was ar-
raigned on a new charge of aggravated
murder for killing Bautista.
Those convicted of aggravated mur-
der face sentences of life in prison with
the possibility of parole after 30 years,
true life in prison or the death sentence.
Under Oregon law, only certain homi-
cides can be charged as aggravated mur-
der. Crimes such as murder for hire, pay-
ing someone to commit murder, killing
multiple people, torturing or intentional-
ly maiming a victim during a homicide
and murdering a child under the age of
14 can qualify as aggravated murder.
Those suspected of killing someone
employed or participating in the justice
system, such as a police officer, judge,
juror or witness in a criminal proceeding
can also be charged with aggravated
murder.
Other qualifying factors include mur-
der by explosive, murder while impris-
oned and murder to conceal a crime.
According to Marion County court
records, the state was almost complete
with its death penalty phase investiga-
tion in Morales' case. Earlier records in-
dicate the district attorney was still in
process of reviewing whether to pursue
the death penalty.
Prosecutor Nicole Theobald gave
written notice of the state's intent to seek
a higher than normal sentence for Mo-
rales. According to the notice, Morales'
incarceration was necessary for public
safety. Theobald also cited his repeated
history of misconduct while incarcerat-
ed.
Morales is currently facing aggravat-
Marion County Sheriff's deputies on scene where Brenda Bautista's body was found near
Donald. MARION COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE
The body of Brenda Bautista, 36, of
Woodburn, was discovered on a rural gravel
road near Donald. OPENSTREETMAPS
ed harassment charges for spitting on a
nurse at the Two Rivers Correctional Fa-
cility. In a declaration to the Umatilla
County court, defense attorney Steven
Gorham said he, David Glenn and Geoff
Gokey had been appointed to handle Mo-
rales' death penalty case.
No Oregon inmate has been executed
since 1997. In 2011, then-Gov. John Kitz-
haber placed a moratorium on all execu-
tions. After taking office, current Gov.
Kate Brown upheld the moratorium and
made her personal opposition to the
death penalty clear.
When Kitzhaber placed a moratorium
on death sentence executions, inmates
wanting to drop appeals and be executed
were left in a waiting game.
Between 1904 and 1997, 60 men were
executed by hanging, gas or lethal injec-
tion, but only two executions took place
after 1962. Both men executed in the
1990s had given up their appellate rights.
Since he began his time as Marion
County's District Attorney, Walt Beglau
said 21 aggravated murder cases have
been tried in the county. Of the 21, evi-
dence for a death sentence has only been
presented in seven cases.
In November 2016, David Bartol, 46,
was sentenced to death for stabbing and
killing another inmate while incarcerat-
ed at the Marion County jail.
After the jury delivered their death
sentence verdict, Gorham, who also
served as Bartol's attorney, said the pro-
longed trial wasted more than $1 million.
"That money should've been spent on
something more positive than trying to
kill David Bartol," he said.
Morales' trial is scheduled to begin
Sept. 10, 2018.
Capital murder cases are divided into
two phases. If the state decides to seek
the death penalty and a jury convicts Mo-
rales of aggravated murder, the jury will
enter a second, penalty phase to deter-
mine whether he should be sentenced to
death.
For questions, comments and news
tips, email reporter Whitney Woodworth
at
wmwoodwort@statesmanjour-
nal.com, call 503-399-6884 or follow on
Twitter @wmwoodworth
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