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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2021
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APPEAL TRIBUNE
FRETWELL MURDERS CHAPTER IV
Bodies found, case drags
Family frustrated as prosecutors and
defense attorneys argue over death penalty
This is the fourth chapter in a four-part
series about the life and murder of Karissa
Fretwell and her 3-year-old son, Billy.
The Gaston man believed responsible
for the kidnapping and murder of 25-year-
old Karissa Fretwell and her 3-year-old son,
Billy, was behind bars and denied bail, but
their remains had not been found.
Michael Wolfe, who was married to
someone else, had been ordered to pay Ka-
rissa $904 a month in child support three
days before she and Billy disappeared.
The ongoing investigation and search
for Karissa and Billy gripped the communi-
ty and was emotionally draining on law en-
forcement.
Salem Police officers involved in the
2019 case tacked photos of Karissa and Billy
above their desks. Some of them had chil-
dren about Billy’s age. The case was just as
heartbreaking for officers from assisting
agencies.
Detectives from Salem Police worked
around the clock, collaborating with
counterparts from the Yamhill County
Sheriff’s Office. They pieced together evi-
dence gathered from about 20 search war-
rants during what Yamhill County District
Attorney Brad Berry called a relentless ef-
fort.
Wolfe, Billy’s biological father, had left
an electronic trail including video surveil-
lance and cell phone records that would
bolster the prosecution’s case if the bodies
remained missing.
Investigators believed Karissa and Billy
were kidnapped sometime between the
night of May 13 into the early morning
hours of May 14. They have never revealed a
theory on how, though.
Karissa left belongings, including glass-
es that Facebook posts indicate she wore
most of the time, behind at her apartment,
and her two cars were still parked outside.
With her apartment sharing a wall with one
neighbor and units in the complex tightly
packed, it’s difficult to imagine how some-
one would not have heard a struggle.
About two months before Karissa and
Billy disappeared, a neighbor told KOIN he
heard a fight in her apartment. A man and
woman were arguing loudly, and a child
was crying in the background.
‘Good detective work’ leads to
bodies
One area police searched for Karissa and
Billy in early June was about 10 miles west
of Yamhill on property owned by the timber
company Weyerhaeuser, the last mile up a
narrow, winding, logging road.
Investigators knew Wolfe was familiar
with the area and had a permit to cut fire-
Fretwell
Continued from Page 1A
support in December 2018, but Wolfe
opposed the order, claiming the num-
bers used to calculate the amount of
child support were incorrect. Court doc-
uments in the final judgment showed
his monthly gross income to have been
nearly $3,800.
During this time, Wolfe sent what Ka-
rissa described to friends as "creepy"
messages. This also was around the
same time she was trying to arrange vis-
itation for Wolfe.
That Christmas, he sent several box-
es to her apartment. Most of the pre-
sents contained toys for Billy, but one
box was for Karissa. It included lingerie,
a pair of sweatpants with the word
"Juicy" on the back, and a laminated
card with his name and number stating
it was good for a sexual favor.
Karissa told him to stop sending gifts
to her and threatened to tell his wife.
Wolfe told her to stop being dramatic.
Friends knew Wolfe made her un-
comfortable. Karissa told them about an
encounter with him and a family mem-
ber at Walmart in McMinnville. The
family member confronted Karissa, who
had Billy in her arms, and said she had
ruined their family.
Wolfe just stood there and didn't say
anything.
Karissa and Billy disappear
In April 2019, the court ordered Wolfe
to pay Karissa $904 a month. A judge
signed the order May 10.
Three days later, she and Billy disap-
peared.
Desirae Lay, a close friend from high
school, texted Karissa on May 12 to wish
her a happy Mother's Day. She received
a "Thank you" in response. That was the
last time they talked.
Police reports stated Karissa and Bil-
ly were last seen at 4 p.m. May 13, when
Karissa picked up Billy from her babysit-
ter. Karissa didn't show up for her next
shift at Yamasa and had no contact with
anyone, which was unlike her.
A family member visited her West
Salem apartment May 17. The door was
unlocked, the television on and Karis-
sa's bank card and eyeglasses inside.
Her cars, a green Mercury Mountaineer
wood there. He also recreated in the area
and had Oregon hunting and fishing li-
censes and a registered watercraft.
The entrance to the area – just past
Yamhill’s city water treatment plant and
where the pavement ends – has a large gate
and signage. The posted rules say it is ille-
gal to go in or out after sunset.
Traffic is scarce during the daytime,
with few if any vehicles traveling the road.
Someone would have to know the area well
to make what would have been a treacher-
ous trek at night with only the headlights of
a car.
The property is remote, expansive and
heavily wooded, with steep ravines to the
south and spur roads to the north.
It would have been nearly impossible to
find the bodies without help, but some-
thing lured law enforcement back June 15,
nearly a month after Karissa and Billy had
disappeared.
Berry would only say it was “just really
good detective work” that took them to a
location about 800 yards from where they
previously had searched.
Confirming the heartbreak
More than 40 people from law enforce-
ment, fire and search and rescue agencies
teamed up for the search. After nearly two
hours, a crew from McMinnville Fire found
two bodies together, partially hidden and
covered with what officials described as
not naturally occurring debris.
The bodies were tentatively identified
as Karissa and Billy and later confirmed by
the state medical examiner.
An autopsy determined Karissa died of
a single gunshot to the head and her death
was ruled a homicide. A firearm also was
found, but officials couldn’t say at the time
if it was connected to her murder.
The cause of Billy’s death was undeter-
mined in the autopsy. Officials have never
publicly released information if additional
testing helped determine the cause of
death.
Wolfe was arraigned June 21, 2019, again
participating in the court proceeding via
video. He did not enter a plea.
Karissa’s family and friends gathered in
early July 2019 for a celebration of life at a
McMinnville church. Tiny photographs of
her beaming and holding Billy, with purple
ribbons attached to safety pins, were hand-
ed out. Purple was Karissa’s favorite color.
Legal wranglings have prolonged the
case in the years since.
A Yamhill County judge dismissed the
aggravated murder charge for the death of
Karissa after a change in Oregon law, re-
placing it with first-degree murder.
and an older white sedan, were still
parked on the street outside the single-
story complex.
The family member called Salem Po-
lice and reported Karissa and Billy miss-
ing.
Karissa's mother reached out to her
daughter's friends, asking if they'd seen
or heard from her.
Her last two Facebook posts, two
weeks before she disappeared, were a
photo of her and Billy and the words,
"He has my heart" and then a final photo
of the backs of her and a tiny Billy hold-
ing hands as they faced a long, empty
road ahead.
Lay called and texted Karissa but did
not hear back. She assumed her friend
lost her phone or left it in the diaper bag,
and it had run out of battery, which was
not unusual.
A day or two later, a detective called
Lay asking about Karissa's where-
abouts. By then, Lay was worried. So
were Karissa's other friends.
Michel Polston knew how close Lay
was to Karissa.
"Neither of us has heard from her for
over three days, which is probably like a
record amount of time for them to not
talk," Polston said.
Salem Police detectives interviewed
several friends, who told them she had
recently been in court against Billy's fa-
ther.
Police questioned Wolfe on May 18 at
his house in Gaston. Wolfe acknowl-
edged having an intimate relationship
with Karissa about four years before but
said he hadn't seen her since a child
support hearing April 15.
He told them the hearing "did not go
well."
He also told them he had not been to
Salem in more than a year.
Police interviewed one of Karissa's
babysitters who had several conversa-
tions with her over the past three
months about Wolfe and his wife. Karis-
sa told the babysitter Wolfe had threat-
ened to seek custody of Billy.
An electronic trail of evidence
Wolfe gave police a timeline of his
whereabouts, leading up to Karissa and
Billy's disappearance, including his
6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. shift from May 10-
13 at Cascade Steel. He said he took the
following week off.
Wolfe was interviewed again at the
The bodies of Karissa Fretwell, 25, and
her son, Billy, 3, were discovered June
15 on land owned by Weyerhaeuser in
Yamhill County. Michael Wolfe, who is
charged with their murders, was
known to recreate in the heavily
wooded property. ABIGAIL
DOLLINS/STATESMAN JOURNAL
The county judge also dismissed an ag-
gravated murder charge for the death of Bil-
ly, but the Oregon Supreme Court reversed
the decision.
Wolfe’s attorneys unsuccessfully ap-
pealed to the state supreme court and now
plan to file an appeal with the U.S. Supreme
Court.
The trial date originally was scheduled
for this December but has been postponed
indefinitely. The next status hearing is
March 14.
‘What seems like games’
Karissa’s family has been frustrated
watching the court case drag on for nearly
2 1 ⁄ 2 years, with prosecutors and defense at-
torneys arguing over whether Wolfe should
be eligible for the death penalty.
During a July 12 hearing, Karissa’s sister,
who lives out of state, spoke on behalf of
the family by phone.
“My sister and my nephew lost their
lives. The (Oregon) Supreme Court had
ruled, and I don’t understand why (the de-
fense) are continuing with what seems like
games to me,” Katrina Kent told the court-
room.
Wolfe has not yet made a plea to any of
the charges. The death penalty remains on
the table for Billy’s murder. Death penalty
cases, in general, can take more than twice
as long as other murder cases.
In Oregon, the death penalty is almost
symbolic. Executions have been officially
halted since 2011, and the last one held was
in 1997.
For the first-degree murder charges,
Wolfe, who is now 54, faces a minimum of
30 years without the possibility of parole.
Friends are just as frustrated with the
delays. The slow churn of cases like this can
cause added emotional strain on a victim’s
family, as well as on investigators and pros-
ecutors.
Salem Police Department after being
advised of his Miranda rights. He main-
tained he hadn't seen Karissa.
Cascade Steel video surveillance and
AT&T phone records contradicted his
claims. Footage showed Wolfe leaving
work at about 8:45 p.m. on May 13. A cell
tower picked up his phone heading
south, then detected him in the vicinity
of Karissa's Salem apartment at about 9
p.m. — on the day she was last seen
alive.
Video surveillance also showed
Wolfe returning to Cascade Steel at 2:35
a.m. May 14, carrying a white trash bag
containing unknown items, and leaving
again at 2:52 a.m.
Karissa's phone pinged near Wolfe's
workplace and in the general area of
Wolfe’s Yamhill County home on May 14.
Police said the evidence was consistent
with their phones being in the same ap-
proximate place.
That afternoon, a text message was
sent from Karissa’s phone about 1.4
miles southeast of Gaston, placing it
near Wolfe's house. Police have not re-
vealed what the text message said or
who it was sent to.
Many of the details were outlined by
Salem Police Detective Anthony VanDe-
koppel in the probable cause statement
used to obtain a warrant for Wolfe's ar-
rest.
"Based on the interviews of Karissa’s
family and friends, I believe the only
known person who would benefit from
the disappearance or criminal homicide
of Karissa and William is Michael
(Wolfe)," VanDekoppel wrote in the affi-
davit.
On May 23, Salem Police and Yamhill
County Sheriff ’s Office searched two
properties in rural Yamhill County, hop-
ing to locate Karissa and her son or find
evidence that would lead to their loca-
tion.
One was a 1 ⁄ 4 -mile radius field near
Hopewell. The other was Wolfe's prop-
erty in Gaston.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation,
Oregon State Police, Yamhill County
Search and Rescue and other agencies
assisted.
Wolfe arrested as search
continues
Friends were initially hopeful that
Karissa and Billy would be found safe.
More than a dozen family, friends and
A celebration of life for 25-year-old
Karissa Fretwell and her 3-year-old
son, William, took place July 7, 2019, at
a McMinnville church. CAPI
LYNN/STATESMAN JOURNAL
“I just want him to face his conse-
quences,” said Karissa’s friend, Desirae Lay,
who plans to attend the trial and hopes
sharing Karissa’s story brings awareness to
domestic violence.
Wolfe has remained at the Yamhill
County Jail since his arrest. While he’s
been there, his wife of 29 years filed for di-
vorce and Karissa’s mom filed a $2 million
wrongful death lawsuit. In September
2020, the divorce was finalized, and the
lawsuit was settled for an undisclosed
amount.
As family and friends wait for a chance
at justice, they have found ways to keep the
memories of Karissa and Billy alive.
Lay has two tattoos in honor of her
friend and son, including a stack of books
with a quill. One of the book’s pages has “K
& B” inside a heart.
Emily Bickle credits Karissa with en-
couraging her to return to school to study
health information management. Bickle is
a single mother.
“I didn’t have a lot of other single mom
friends who went to school while parenting
and so she changed my life in just that as-
pect alone,” Bickle said. “Seeing a single
mom who juggled so much with so much
grace and joy … that’s rare to see when
you’re looking at people who are coming up
after adversity.”
Those who knew Karissa believed she
would have been just as inspirational as a
teacher. They wonder what Billy would
have been like growing up. Some say he
was a carbon copy of his mom.
Virginia Barreda is the Statesman Jour-
nal’s public safety and courts reporter. She
can
be
reached
at
vbarreda@
statesmanjournal.com or 503-399-6657.
Capi Lynn is the Statesman Journal’s
news columnist. She can be reached at
clynn@StatesmanJournal.com or 503-
399-6710.
Whitney Woodworth is the Statesman
Journal’s city reporter. She can be reached
at wmwoodworth@statesmanjournal.com
or 503-910-6616.
coworkers held a vigil May 27, 2019, at
Maud Williamson State Recreation Site
in Yamhill County to bring awareness to
the missing mother and son.
Widespread media coverage kept the
spotlight on the search, but their hope
began to chip away as the search
dragged on.
Friends prepared for the worst when
police revealed the personal belongings
found in the West Salem apartment —
items Karissa would never have left
without.
The same day police searched the
two properties, Wolfe was identified as
a person of interest. Police must have
lost track of him because they asked for
the public's help locating him for addi-
tional questioning.
A wanted poster was released with
two photos of the 52-year-old man with
thinning hair and a bushy mustache,
one with glasses, one without. The post-
er described him as 6-foot-2 and 250
pounds with brown hair and hazel eyes.
Wolfe was arrested the next day at a
donut shop in southwest Portland.
A Blue Star Donut employee told KA-
TU that Wolfe acted strangely inside
and made "weird comments" toward
female employees. They assumed he
was homeless.
Salem Police took him in custody out-
side the bakery without resistance.
Wolfe was arraigned May 28 in Yam-
hill County Circuit Court, appearing by
video for the brief proceeding. Family
members of Karissa and Billy sat in the
back row of the courtroom.
Wolfe was charged with three counts
of aggravated murder — one constitu-
ting domestic violence — and two
counts of first-degree kidnapping. The
judge told Wolfe it was a potential death
penalty case.
Karissa and Billy were still missing.
Virginia Barreda is the Statesman
Journal's public safety and courts re-
porter. She can be reached at
vbarreda@statesmanjournal.com
or
503-399-6657.
Capi Lynn is the Statesman Journal's
news columnist. She can be reached at
clynn@StatesmanJournal.com or 503-
399-6710.
Whitney Woodworth is the States-
man Journal's city reporter. She can be
reached at wmwoodworth@statesman
journal.com or 503-910-6616 or follow
on Twitter @wmwoodworth.