2A • September 30, 2016 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com
Seaside toddler murder trial begins
Roden’s death penalty
trial could last up to two
months
By Kyle Spurr
KOIN/SUBMITTED PHOTO
Evangelina Wing in an un-
dated photo. The 2-year-old
died Dec. 20, 2014.
EO Media Group
Clatsop County’s irst
death penalty trial in 15 years
started this month in Circuit
Court.
Randy Lee Roden, 28, is
on trial for allegedly murder-
ing his girlfriend’s 2-year-old
daughter and abusing her two
sons while they all lived to-
gether in a Seaside apartment.
The gruesome scene discov-
ered in December 2014 is
described as among the worst
child-abuse cases in the coun-
ty.
The trial, in courtroom
300, which opened Sept. 20,
continues to focus on jury se-
lection. Prospective jurors are
being screened in the court-
room in groups of six until
the 12-person jury is selected,
with two to four alternates.
The pool of available jurors
will be asked about their at-
titudes toward capital punish-
ment and whether they think
they can be impartial.
Judge Paula Brownhill de-
cided to have the jurors ques-
tioned in groups, rather than
individually, after her experi-
ence presiding over the coun-
JOSHUA BESSEX/EO MEDIA GROUP
Defense lawyer Conor Huseby,right, speaks with Randy Ro-
den during a hearing at the Clatsop County Courthouse.
ty’s last death penalty case.
In 2001, Anthony Scott
Garner was found guilty and
sentenced to life in prison for
fatally stabbing a woman on
a motorboat in the Warrenton
mooring basin and setting the
boat on ire to cover up the
crime.
“We questioned jurors
individually in 15-minute
segments, and it took over
a week to select 12 jurors,”
Brownhill said. “In the Roden
case, we will bring jurors into
the courtroom in groups of six
rather than one at a time.”
Evidence
The District Attorney’s
Ofice believes it has enough
physical evidence and ex-
pert opinion to connect the
crimes to Roden. The state
will present evidence show-
ing the 2-year-old, Evangelina
Wing, and her brothers were
tortured, burned, bitten and
caged in the Seaside apart-
ment their mother, Dorothy
Wing, shared with Roden.
Evangelina Wing appar-
ently died of battered child
syndrome with blunt force
trauma to her head. Blood
spatter was found in almost
every corner of the apartment,
staining holiday decorations
and the wall behind a Christ-
mas tree.
Roden’s defense is that he
did not commit the crimes.
His lawyer, Conor Huseby,
is adamant that someone else
is to blame, possibly the chil-
dren’s mother.
Dorothy Wing, 26, pleaded
guilty in January to irst-de-
gree manslaughter and two
counts of irst-degree criminal
mistreatment. She was sen-
tenced to more than 15 years
in prison, contingent on her
truthfully testifying at Ro-
den’s trial.
“Mr. Roden’s defense will
be what it has always been;
he simply did not commit the
crimes the state has accused
him of,” Husby wrote in a
court document.
Witnesses
Roden’s trial could last up
to two months. Trial days will
be Tuesday through Friday,
with occasional time off of
those days if a session inishes
early or the court has an emer-
gency hearing in another case.
Multiple witnesses for the
prosecution and defense will
testify. Many are traveling from
Georgia, where Roden grew up.
Witnesses for Roden in-
clude his close friends, sister,
half brother and sixth- and
third-grade teachers. The de-
fense also plans to call Janice
Ophoven, a pediatric foren-
sic pathologist, who claims
the toddler likely died from
complications of a lesh-eat-
ing infection, rather than from
blunt-force trauma.
The prosecution will call
two of Roden’s ex-girlfriends,
who can detail a pattern of
violence against women and
children.
One ex-girlfriend, who
dated Roden from March to
July 2014, will say he did not
like children, he abused her
children both physically and
emotionally and her children
were fearful of him. She will
testify that Roden was very
controlling with her and the
children, threatened to move
out and warned he would
commit suicide in order to
control her behavior, accord-
ing to court documents.
Roden is serving an eight-
year prison sentence for vio-
lating probation from a do-
mestic violence conviction
in 2013 involving his other
ex-girlfriend. The woman is
traveling from Tennessee to
testify against Roden.
“(She) is a past girlfriend
and prior crime victim of
Mr. Roden and has abundant
information about his char-
acter,” Chief Deputy District
Attorney Ron Brown wrote in
a court document.
Gearhart
police report
August 2016
For the month of
August 2016 in the
Gearhart Police Depart-
ment’s report to the City
Council, there were
no reported burglaries,
auto thefts, acts of van-
dalism, trespass, or vio-
lation of liquor or weap-
on laws. There were no
reported assaults, sex
offenses, harassments,
menacing, or runaways.
There were three traf-
ic accidents and two
reports of vehicular hit
and runs. Twenty dis-
turbances were reported
and cleared, as well as
four incidents involv-
ing animals. The police
conducted 309 security
checks and rendered as-
sistance 63 times. There
were two reported
thefts in the 2nd degree.
Among the three trafic
accidents, one human
injury was reported and
two reports of proper-
ty damage. Two adults
were taken into custody
arrest. Fifty-six trafic
and city violators were
issued warnings. No
deaths in the city of
Gearhart were reported.
SEASIDE POLICE LOG
Sept. 11
8:40 a.m., 500 block Broadway:
A missing person was reported.
3:23 p.m., Broadway and Edge-
wood: An oicer attempted to
maneuver back into position
a moved sewer grate that
appeared to have been moved
by someone attempting to
retrieve a lost object. The grate
became wedged and is deemed
a tripping hazard. Public works
was notiied.
9:49 p.m., 200 block S. Roos-
evelt: Caller reports a domestic
situation in progress; the com-
plainant left the scene before
police arrived.
10:07 a.m., 2000 block North
Fork: Complainant reports a
person or persons in a red BMW
parking near his home late
at night and depositing their
“fruits of love” on to the street.
Police advise they will send
extra patrols to the area.
7:15 p.m., Seaside Police
Station: A person came in to
register as a sex ofender.
Sept. 13
12:45 a.m., 1100 block Broad-
way: A Burglary II incident was
reported. No further informa-
tion was available.
12:50 a.m., 200 block S. Holla-
day: Police receive information
about a subject asleep in a
damaged vehicle, parts of the
vehicle being held together
with tape. Subject told police
it was old damage, but was ad-
vised they would be contacted
should a hit and run match be
located.
3:13 p.m., Avenue S and
storage area: Police are asked
to assist with traic control at a
power pole ire.
5:10 p.m., 1600 block S. Co-
lumbia: A civil dispute among
family members regarding
the dispersal of belongings
of a deceased family member
resulted in police intervention.
The parties involved were of-
fered options how to solve their
problem.
2:27 p.m., Highway 101: Police
arrive on scene to assist Gear-
hart police and Medix at the
scene of a traic stop.
6:40 p.m., 800 block S. Roos-
evelt: Police respond to a report
of a woman described as being
“very upset.” She told police
she was trying to retrieve a lost
item.
Sept. 14
Sept. 15
1:05 a.m., 12th and Necani-
cum: Police respond to a report
of a man screaming. Police
are unable to locate anyone
screaming.
11:37 a.m., 1500 block N.
Roosevelt: Police respond to a
complaint about a vehicle that
possibly stole mail from the Sea-
side Signal newspaper oice.
An oicer was in the area at the
time of the call, but was unable
to locate the described vehicle.
9:51 p.m., 200 block Broadway:
Caller reports to police a man
who has threatened to ight
him and who has been calling
him derogatory names. Oicer
is unable to locate subject.
Sept. 17
4:35 p.m., 300 block N. Co-
lumbia: Caller reports seeing a
woman in a dress who seemed
like she could use assistance.
Police locate subject and give
her a courtesy ride to her hotel.