January 13, 2017 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com • 3A
Clatsop killer up for parole
District
attorneys
oppose release
By Amy Frazier
KOIN 6
PORTLAND — In 1976,
George William Nulph kid-
napped and murdered a wom-
an in Cannon Beach. He was
let out of prison about 10
years later and then raped
women in Portland.
Now Nulph, who has spent
the last 30 years in prison, is
being considered for parole.
The 64-year-old convict
argues he’s no longer a threat
to the community and should
be released. But district attor-
neys representing Clatsop and
Multnomah counties are fight-
ing to keep him locked up.
The first case
In 1976, Frances Chris-
tians — the mother of two
young children — was on her
way home from work in Can-
non Beach when Nulph kid-
napped her, sexually assaulted
her and shot her to death exe-
cution-style.
From The Daily Astorian,
April 8, 1976:
George William Nulph, a
24-year-old ex-Marine arrest-
ed for murder and kidnapping
charges Wednesday morning
was arraigned on the charges
in Clatsop District County
Wednesday afternoon. He en-
tered no plea. …
Nulph was arrested at his
residence at 165 S.W. Cedar,
Warrenton, accused of ab-
ducting 51-year-old Frances
Ann Christians April 2 from
Silver Point and taking her to
a logging road and shooting
her.
Ms. Christians died of
three gunshot wounds in the
chest by a .22-caliber weapon
after being sexually assault-
ed. Police say they haven’t
determined the motive in the
slaying. …”
Nulph was given a life
sentence for the crimes that
shocked Clatsop County.
“Less than 10 years later,
the Department of Correc-
tions gave him a, quote, tem-
porary leave and simply let
him out of prison,” said Josh
Marquis, the Clatsop County
district attorney.
The second case
Weeks after he was let
out of prison on a “tempo-
rary leave” in 1986, he raped
women in Multnomah Coun-
ty. Nulph went to prison in
1987 for the sex crimes and
was sentenced as a dangerous
offender.
“The reason Measure 11
passed, the reason we devel-
oped even moderately tough-
on-crime laws in the 1990s
was because of cases like
Nulph’s,” Marquis said.
“One could make the argu-
ment, I suppose, that the man
has done 30 years in prison
for the rapes, which was the
minimum he was sentenced,”
Marquis said. “Why not give
him a chance, you know, to
show that he’s, in fact, reha-
bilitated himself.”
The parole fight
Nulph was sentenced for
the sex crimes as a dangerous
offender. Judge Stephen Her-
rell sentenced him to a min-
imum of 80 years. After 80
years, he could be considered
for parole.
Later that year, the parole
board reviewed his sentence,
deemed it excessive and re-
duced it, making him eligible
for parole now.
According to court docu-
ments, part of Nulph’s fight
to get a parole hearing is his
claim the anti-social person-
ality disorder that made him
dangerous is in remission.
Marquis doesn’t believe
that.
“I can’t at this point share
the psychological reports, but
I can say that they are among
the scariest I’ve ever read and
I’ve handled over two dozen
murder cases,” he said.
Nulph’s good behavior,
Marquis said is “because he’s
in a facility (prison.) It’s sort
of a Catch-22.”
Marquis argues that not
only is Nulph still dangerous,
he was never held accountable
for committing the sex crimes
during his murder release “be-
cause it (the murder) was lost
by the institutional memory of
the state of Oregon.”
Marquis admitted, though,
Nulph was punished for the
sex crimes in 1986.
“In fairness, he was pun-
ished for the crimes of rape
and sodomy by Multnomah
County and the judges that
had authority over that. And
in fairness the parole board
that exists today bears no re-
lationship either to the institu-
tion or the people that existed
back in the ’70s and ’80s.”
But his concern is based on
the law.
“As bizarre as this sounds,”
Marquis said, “the parole
board is obligated to impose
the rule of law that existed
when he committed the crime,
which is essentially 1976.”
If his full sentence had re-
OREGON DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS
SUBMITTED PHOTO
George Nulph in his most
recent prison photo.
George Nulph in his 1976
booking photo from Clat-
sop County.
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Frances Christians, seen in an undated photo, was killed in
April 1976 by George Nulph.
mained in place, he would not
have been eligible for parole
until around 2062. But now,
for the first time, Nulph gets a
parole hearing this morning at
the Oregon State Correctional
Institution in Salem. A deci-
sion could take several weeks.
its hinges. Arrived and found crawl
space access had blown open due
to wind. Reinstalled and secured.
Jan. 7
Jan. 5
1:12 p.m., 300 Block Elk Creek Road:
Officer assisted subjects change a
flat tire.
CANNON BEACH POLICE LOG
Dec. 31
11:57 p.m., Beach/Gower Street:
Fireworks found and destroyed by
officer.
Jan. 1
12:42 a.m., 1400 Block South Spruce
Street: Fireworks offense. Fireworks
observed in area. Unable to locate.
1:25 a.m., 1100 Block Avenue B: Male
subject arrested for DUII. A BAC of
0.16 percent was obtained. Subject
was booked and released to a sober
responsible.
9:20 a.m., Highway 101/Milepost
27.5: Motor vehicle incident.
5:33 p.m., Beach/Umpqua: Reported
dog at large. Officer arrived on scene.
Dog was reunited with owner and
officer cleared.
6:01 p.m., 100 Block Brallier: Subject
called 911 wanted the police to pick
up his girlfriend and bring her to him.
He was advised about misuse of 911.
He later called the business line and
said she had returned home a few
moments later.
7:12 p.m., Warren Way/Hemlock
Street: Subject stopped for traffic
violation. Subject cited for driving
while suspended and no insurance.
Subject’s license was recovered by
officer. Subject was given a courtesy
ride to Arch Cape. Officer cleared.
Jan. 2
1:17 p.m., 2500 Block South Roo-
sevelt: Officer responded to assist
Seaside Police and Seaside Fire
Department with a violent subject.
10:46 p.m., Highway 101/Milepost
32: Officer found injured owl in the
middle of highway. Officers were un-
able to get the owl into a carrier. Owl
was last seen on the right shoulder
of the northbound lane of Highway
101 and the third exit.
borhood. The dog was brought by
a neighborhood resident to a con-
struction crew. The crew called the
police department. A phone number
search identified the owner. Own-
ers were out of town. The dog was
transported to CBPD. The dog sitter
was identified and claimed the dog.
10:40 p.m., Highway 101/Milepost
29: Officer removed deceased animal
from the roadway, due to it being a
traffic hazard.
10:47 p.m., Highway 101/Milepost
29: Fugitive.
Jan. 3
Jan. 4
2:21 p.m., Coho Place: Complaint of
a dog at large, roaming the neigh-
8:52 a.m., 200 Block West Kenai
Street: Report of a door “blown” off
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3:41 p.m., 500 Block South Roosevelt
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7:42 p.m., Highway 101/Milepost
27.2: Fugitive. Subject arrested on
multiple felony warrants. Second
subject arrested on parole and
probation detainer for violation of
a no-contact order.
Jan. 6
6:36 a.m., 1400 Block South Hemlock
Street: Assisted Cannon Beach Fire
and Medix with unresponsive female.
1:56 a.m., 4000 Block South Hemlock
Street: Suspicious circumstances.
4:22 p.m., 700 Block North Hemlock
Street: Report of toddler running
around outside without pants on.
Outside temperature was 32 de-
grees. Discovered that toddler had
unlocked door and gone outside
while mother was using the bath-
room.
9:13 p.m., 1000 Block South Holl-
aday: Drug recognition evaluation.
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