October 7, 2016 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com • 3A
Toddler murder case underway
OBITUARIES
Donald Howell
Nov. 22, 1928 — Sept. 29, 2016
Donald “Don” Howell,
longtime Cannon Beach resi-
dent, passed away on Sept. 29,
in Portland, at the age of 87.
Don was born in Glad-
stone, Oregon, on Nov. 22,
1928, to Richard and Alice
Howell. He had two brothers,
Richard and Jim. He attended
Oregon City High School and
graduated in 1946.
In 1948, Don moved per-
manently to Cannon Beach
and joined the Astoria Reserve
Fleet of the U.S. Maritime
Administration, doing mainte-
nance and radio repair for lo-
cal ships stationed in Astoria,
Oregon.
Don was drafted into the
Army in 1950 at the start
of the Korean War, and was
stationed in Japan and Ko-
rea until returning home in
1953, where he remained in
the Army Reserves until his
honorable discharge in 1956.
After returning home, Don
returned to his work for the
Maritime until the Astoria
Maritime base closed in 1968.
In 1969, Don went to work
for the Cannon Beach Water
Company, and later became
the Public Works director for
the city of Cannon Beach until
his retirement in 1991. While
working for the city, Don also
co-owned a local grocery store
in the late 1960s and early
1970s, as well as an antique
store in the mid-1980s.
Don had a special bond
with Cannon Beach, and was
loved by the community. In the
last few years, he developed a
By Kyle Spurr
DANNY MILLER/EO MEDIA GROUP
EO Media Group
Donald Howell
following on social media for
his nightly sunset photos, and
could be seen regularly stand-
ing at the end of his street at
sunset, talking with locals and
tourists alike, sharing the his-
tory and beauty of this little
beach town he loved so much.
Don is survived by his
two daughters, Linda (Eric)
Rebitzer of Tumwater and
Debbie (Ken) Dimeo of Cen-
tral Oregon; granddaughter
Amanda (Chuck) Walker of
Bend, Oregon; and many niec-
es and nephews.
In lieu of lowers, please
consider making a donation
to Doernbecher Children’s
Hospital Foundation, 1121
S.W. Salmon St., Suite 100,
Portland, OR 97205-2021.
Don held a special place in his
heart for these kids.
Don will be greatly missed
by his family, friends and
community.
Candidate forum at Coaster heatre
Cannon Beach council
candidates will take the stage
at the Coaster Theatre for a
public forum on Wednesday,
Oct. 12, at 7 p.m.
Three candidates — Herb
Florer, Nancy McCarthy and
Brandon Ogilvie — are run-
ning for two open spots on the
council. Melissa Cadwallader
Lawyers make
opening
statements
in ‘gruesome’
Seaside case
and Wendy Higgins complete
their terms this year.
The forum was organized
by Vote Smart Cannon Beach,
a nonpartisan and nonproit
ad hoc group of residents that
aims to help voters make an
informed choice. The group
will moderate the forum and
ask a series of questions.
Prosecutors
described
Randy Lee Roden as some-
one with a violent history who
grew frustrated watching after
his girlfriend’s toddler daugh-
ter and her two sons.
The state is accusing Ro-
den of murdering 2-year-old
Evangelina Wing and abusing
her brothers in the Seaside
apartment he shared with their
mother, Dorothy Ann Wing.
Roden’s defense lawyers,
however, say the focus on Ro-
den is a rush to judgment. The
defense claims the toddler
was killed by the abusive ac-
tions of her mother combined
with a dangerous lesh-eating
virus found on the girl.
Opening arguments began
Tuesday, Oct. 4, in Clatsop
County Circuit Court in the
death penalty trial of Roden.
The crimes are considered
among the worst child-abuse
cases in the county.
Gruesome evidence
Chief Deputy District
Attorney Ron Brown gave
a detailed description of the
gruesome evidence. The
three children were tortured,
burned, bitten and caged in
the apartment. All three chil-
dren were the victims of child
abuse. The older brother, now
7, is one of the most trauma-
tized children his pediatric
doctor has seen. The boy will
not testify at trial due to the
trauma, Brown said.
The younger brother, now
3, had a broken bone in his
pelvic region and extensive
bruising.
An autopsy found Evan-
gelina Wing apparently died
of battered child syndrome
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Chief Deputy District At-
torney Ron Brown delivers
opening statements for the
case against Randy Roden.
DANNY MILLER/EO MEDIA GROUP
‘All of these
injuries were
not accidental.’
Randy Roden, let, talks with his lawyer Conor Huseby
before the start of opening statements on Tuesday at Clat-
sop County Circuit Court.
Ron Brown,
chief deputy district attorney
with blunt force trauma to her
head.
Doctors and nurses will
testify for the state about the
extensive injuries to the three
children.
“All of these injuries were
not accidental,” Brown said.
Inside the apartment,
blood spatter was found in al-
most every corner, including
on holiday decorations and
the wall behind a Christmas
tree. Most of the blood spat-
ter was found in the bathroom
and was 3 feet or lower on the
walls.
“There was way more
blood in that bathroom than
there ever should have been,”
Brown said.
The state’s theory is that
Dorothy Wing aided and abet-
ted Roden by allowing him
to live with her children and
take care of them while she
worked. She was responsible
for Roden’s actions, the state
claims, but was not the one
who murdered the toddler.
Wing, 26, pleaded guilty in
January to irst-degree man-
slaughter and two counts of
irst-degree criminal mistreat-
ment. She was sentenced to
more than 15 years in prison,
contingent on her truthfully
testifying at Roden’s trial.
Roden, 28, is already serv-
ing an eight-year prison sen-
tence for violating probation
from a previous domestic vio-
lence conviction. He violated
probation by possessing mari-
juana, oxycodone and metha-
done and failing to report that
he moved in with Dorothy
Wing.
babysitters will testify about
seeing and hearing Wing be
abusive to her children before
Roden came into their lives.
Huseby said the witnesses
will describe Wing smacking
her children in the head and
twisting their arms, similar to
some of the injuries found on
the children.
The same witnesses never
saw Roden do anything abu-
sive to the children. Huseby
said even Wing admitted Ro-
den was good with her chil-
dren.
Huseby also questioned
the way the case was investi-
gated. He claims law enforce-
ment targeted Roden from the
beginning, and treated Wing
like a victim.
In each police interview,
Roden never admitted to any
crime.
“I did not hurt her. I did
not manhandle her. I did not
do anything to her,” Roden
told police.
Huseby also pointed to
an interview with the older
brother, where he calls Roden
nice and Wing mad. When
asked who killed his sister, the
brother says, “that evil witch.”
“All the major injuries
in this case are explained by
Dorothy Wing,” Huseby said.
The trial is expected to last
about two months.
Two culprits
Roden’s defense lawyer
Conor Huseby used his open-
ing argument to pin the crimes
on Dorothy Wing and compli-
cations from the lesh-eating
virus known as methicillin-re-
sistant Staphylococcus aureus
infection.
“The truth is there are two
culprits in this case,” Huseby
said.
On the night Evangelina
Wing was found dead, the
defense believes the girl was
likely sick and fussing from
her mother’s abuse and the
infection. Huseby envisions
Dorothy Wing getting upset
and smacking her daughter
like she had done many times
before, but that time it killed
her.
“She killed her daughter
and she is getting away with
it,” Huseby said.
Neighbors, friends and
Alaina Giguiere
Marty Giguiere
Owner/Principal Broker
c: 503.440.3202
f: 877.812.1126
e: alainagiguiere@mac.com
Owner/Broker
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o: 503.43t6.1777
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Susan Tone
Maryann Sinkler
Andrea Mace
Broker
c: 503.354.4072
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Broker
c. 503.440.9280
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Broker
c. 503-440-4024
e: Andrea.k.mace@remax.net
Egrane Brown
Broker
c: 503.440.1648
e: egranebrown@gmail.com
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