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About The Bulletin. (Bend, OR) 1963-current | View Entire Issue (May 21, 2022)
THE BULLETIN • SATURDAY, MAY 21, 2022 A7 Veteran Clay Web- ster, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, re- moves a ro- tor blade tie down from a Robinson R-44 helicop- ter Thursday at Bend Mu- nicipal Air- port. Continued from A1 Webster wanted to find a solution. His hint came in the comments be- low Osborne’s Facebook post, which veterans had filled with their names and phone numbers, in case another veteran needed someone to talk to. Webster, however, knew someone in the throes of crisis would need a quicker, easier way to seek help and likely wouldn’t think to log on to so- cial media. That’s how Webster got the idea of an app he is building for veterans needing help while contemplating suicide. The free app, called LifeLine Find, allows veterans to type in their ZIP code and search for other vet- erans in their area who can counsel them in a time of need, providing a path past the red tape that often im- pedes the process of getting help. “The whole idea is to get the story out there that this is something that could have been prevented,” he said. “It’s a story that is all too common.” The app, Webster said, will be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, which Webster stresses is essential because too often men- tal health crises spurred by trauma occur outside the normal working hours that mental health facilities are open. He said veterans will even be able to use a filter to find people of cer- tain branches of the armed forces. He plans to launch the app next month, he said. Webster is quick to describe the statistics behind what he sees as a Babysitter Continued from A1 The injury was the kind of “high-energy” accelera- tion-deceleration injury that doctors told police detectives could never occur in a short fall. More likely, they said, it was abusive head trauma. Three months later, after medical and digital foren- sics results were returned, Linschied was charged with first-degree assault and crim- inal mistreatment, crimes that carry up to eight years in prison. Linschied has stren- uously maintained her inno- cence. Last week, her jury trial be- gan in the courtroom of De- schutes County Circuit Judge Bethany Flint. Prosecutors in- tend to prove that beneath her wholesome exterior, Linschied harbored a sadistic urge to harm children. In addition to graphic medical testimony, jurors have heard evidence in the form of Linschied’s inter- net search history, which con- tains queries like, “how long does a 1-year-old go without air before it dies?” and “want- ing to hit babies for no rea- son.” Trishelle Linschied In photos on her blog, the Hotmess Hobo, Linschied has soft features and a gen- tle smile. She’s worn to court floral shawls with big jewelry, joined each day by a band of up to a dozen supportive fam- ily members and friends. Linschied trained to be a Montessori educator through Bethany Global University. Her background includes vol- unteer work at an orphanage and a mission trip to Turkey. Linschied has no prior criminal convictions and pros- ecutors concede she’s never been accused of anything like this before. That Linschied hasn’t been allowed around children while awaiting trial for nearly four years has been a considerable hardship to her, Linschied’s attorney wrote in court docu- ments seeking supervised con- tact with minors. The references of several character witnesses who speak to Linschied’s kindness and affection for children were in- cluded in the court motion. “I would not be writing Dean Guernsey/ Bulletin photos Veteran Clay Webster is using programs at Central Oregon Community College to design an app specifically for veter- ans with PTSD, contemplating suicide. stigmatized problem that can lead to tragedy among service members. De- partment of Defense data show sui- cide rates among active-duty service members increased by more than 40% from 2015 to 2020, as reported by the New York Times. In all, 30,177 active-duty military personnel and veterans who have served since the Sept. 11, 2001, ter- rorism attacks have died by suicide, according to a Brown University study. That’s more than four times as high as service members killed in combat during that time period, the study found. Webster said he believes mental health issues among service mem- bers often go uncared for “more than any place.” you this letter if I did not be- lieve with every bone in my body that Trish is a trusted and warm person and I have no concerns regarding her spending time with children,” wrote Cindy Kubista, an Army veteran who met Linschied working at Costco in 2014. Before she stopped updat- ing her blog in late 2020, Lin- schied wrote how she’s filled her days since the case be- gan: her, her dog, Hank, and her 2008 Honda CR-V — a “weekend nomad, adventure junkie, and peak bagger.” “In October 2018, my life changed forever,” she wrote on her blog. “I wish I could give you more details as to what transpired on that date. If it were up to me I would gladly tell you the whole story. Until that’s possible, I’ll tell you what I can. An accident occurred. Not only was the accident it- self traumatic, but the events that followed began to unravel into the worst nightmare of my life.” Jackson Sykes is the first child of her parents, Brittany Duncan and Braden Sykes. On Wednesday, day two of the trial, Jackson’s parents were called as witnesses. In her first year of life, the girl was happy and almost un- usually healthy, they testified. Outside of regular checkups, they took her to a doctor only once, for what turned out to be a bad cough. Duncan worked at PetsMart and Skyes is an aircraft me- chanic. The 20-something couple was living in Redmond and commuting to Bend at the time. In late 2018, Duncan needed the income from a second job. Her mother in La Pine had watched Jackson, but a more reliable solution was needed. The couple found Linschied through Craigslist. They met her at a coffee shop in Bend and thought she was “sweet,” Sykes said. She watched sev- eral other kids during the day. They followed her to her apartment and saw nothing concerning. “She seemed normal. We decided to let her watch Jack- son while we work,” Skyes said. “In Bend, it’s hard to find people to watch your kid.” The parents testified Jack- son was often happy when “The stigma around it is that it’s a sign of weakness, which it’s not,” he said. “But that’s the way that a lot of people view it. It’s hard for them to seek help because they don’t want to be viewed as someone who needs it.” Osborne’s death inspired Webster to build this app to help other strug- gling veterans. He said he received approval from Osborne’s fiancee to feature the Marine’s story in its ad- vertisements. When he created a GoFundMe to raise money to build the app, Web- ster said Osborne’s fiancee was the first person to donate. So far, he has raised about $700, and the rest of the funds for the app Webster is paying out of pocket. Webster served as a Marine in they picked her up. And she was sometimes cranky about being dropped off, which they chalked up to her being that way. The day On Halloween 2018, they both received calls from para- medics telling them some- thing had happened to Jack- son and she was being taken by ambulance to St. Charles Bend. Duncan got to the apart- ment in time and rode in the ambulance with her daughter. Sykes missed them by a few seconds. “It was probably the most scary thing that I’ve experi- enced,” Duncan said. In the emergency depart- ment of St. Charles, Dr. Kevin Jones was concerned when paramedics told him his lat- est patient had a head injury and showed signs of an altered mental status. “That’s a huge red flag for us, because that can signify significant injury,” Jones said. Also concerning was that she’d vomited and seemed un- able to move her head to the right. Jones ordered a CT scan to look at the child’s brain. With small children, physicians take the prospect of a CT scan ex- tremely seriously, Jones said, because the chemicals given to irradiate the blood for the scan can increase a child’s can- cer risk for life. But Jackson’s altered mental status left doctors no choice, Jones testified. “She immediately war- ranted imaging. There was really no question about it,” Jones said. She was transferred by he- licopter to a pediatric neuro- surgeon at Legacy Emanuel in Portland. Prosecutors have called sev- eral medical expert witnesses who examined Jackson di- rectly, including Dr. Catherine Wagoner, who was resolute: The girl’s head injury was the result of abusive head trauma and not a fall. “She didn’t do this to her- self,” she said, indicating a color illustration of Jackson’s CT scans. “I have never seen it in a short fall.” Bend Police officer Russell Skelton testified he remem- bered the day in 2018 well. Japan, Thailand and in South Ko- rea during then-President Donald Trump’s summit with Kim Jong Un in 2018. Born and raised in a small town in Southern Illinois, he attends COCC’s aviation program with the hopes of being a helicopter pilot. Webster clarified that, at this point, although the app is intended for vet- erans, anyone who either needs help or wants to help others can use it. To make it more accessible than current mental health help avail- able for veterans, there will not be a screening process or background check to ensure the user is a veteran. Webster said he’s confident that vet- erans will know quickly whether they’re talking to another veteran or not. It was Halloween and he’d planned to take his kids trick or treating after his shift. But late in the afternoon, a super- visor told him something had come up and to put his plans on hold. Skelton interviewed Lin- schied in her apartment and later at the station. While testifying, Skelton was questioned about his friendly demeanor with Lin- schied. “It’s just building rapport,” he said. “I’ve found if you don’t have that, an investiga- tion can become a little more difficult.” Skelton asked her if she’d turn over her phone and other devices to police. She agreed. “We’re not looking in your cellphone to look through your life. We’re looking as of just today, this afternoon. Cur- rent.” Internet searches The third day of the trial, Thursday, began with jurors hearing potentially damning evidence: Linschied’s internet search history from the weeks before Jackson’s injury. “What makes me want to hit people?” she allegedly goo- █ Reporter: 541-660-9844, bdole@bendbulletin.com gled Sept. 27, 2018. Later that day, she allegedly searched, “wanting to hit ran- dom babies for no reason,” fol- lowed by the similar, “adults wanting to hit random babies for no reason.” On Oct. 10, 2018, she al- legedly searched, “What hap- pens to a 1-year-old when they keep getting their oxygen cut off?” Later that day, she al- legedly searched, “How long does a 1-year-old go without being able to breath before it dies.” “Why do i want to hurt defenseless people?” she searched on the morning Oct. 16, 2018. “Psychology behind abusing babies,” she allegedly searched that day, followed by, “Do 1-year-olds remember being abused?” Linschied’s attorney, Todd Grover, fought trial to ex- clude Linschied’s internet searches as evidence. And in his questioning of witnesses, he’s downplayed them, noting police combed through 3,000 unique searches on Linschied’s phone. “We’re talking about a very small, select few searches that were of interest to your inves- tigation, is that correct?” Gro- ver asked Bend Police digital forensic analyst James Poole, who conducted the search of Linschied’s phone. “The vast majority of these searches are what you’d term benign or non-interesting. Is that cor- rect?” Poole agreed. Grover asked Poole if any evidence was found Linschied visited “sadomasochistic” sites or the dark web. Poole said there was not. Grover asked Poole to con- firm that after searching, Lin- schied often clicked on men- tal health websites or serious news outlets like the BBC. Grover inquired about the other topics Linschied searched. Poole said they in- clude cooking recipes, travel to Slovenia, exercise, shows on Netflix and watercolor paint- ing. Trial was off Friday and will resume Tuesday with more witnesses for the state. The case is scheduled to conclude next week. Grover has said Linschied intends to testify in her de- fense. █ Reporter: 541-383-0325, gandrews@bendbulletin.com CUSTOM CABINETS & CLOSETS HIR NOW ING ! ChesterCabinets.com 62910 Boyd Acres Rd • 541-389-8130 Call for Appointment A S ENIOR M OMENT Senior Living Solutions • Retirement living • Memory/Alzheimer’s care Webster said that the lack of in-person mental health appoint- ments during the pandemic may have increased the burden on veter- ans, heightening the importance for resources like the app. As Webster shared his story at the community college on Wednesday, he wore on his wrist a black memo- rial band with the Marine Corps insignia and the American flag. In- scribed on the band is the name of his good friend from high school, the friend with whom he used to talk enthusiastically about serving in the armed forces. 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