An Oregon prison guard and his nephew were arrested for the 2020 murder of the guard's brother and his fiancée in a dispute over their late father's estate.
Kenneth Atkinson, 54, of Bend, allegedly hired his nephew, Nathan Detroit, 31, to kill Ray Atkinson Jr., 34, and Natasha Newby, 29, while the Atkinson brothers were in a bitter legal dispute over their father's $400,000 estate, said Deschutes County District Attorney John Hummel.
The couple died from blunt force trauma on August 15, 2020, which Hummel said Detroit, of Redmond, carried out in exchange for money.
'Ray and Natasha's families have been waiting 14 months for the arrest of the killers of their loved ones. I committed to working tirelessly on this case until we had sufficient evidence to move forward,' Hummel told Central Oregon Daily News.
'Thanks to the dogged work of Bend Police Detectives, the Oregon State Police Crime Lab, and the deputy district attorneys and trial assistants in my office, we secured sufficient evidence to prove who committed these crimes and how they committed these crimes.'
Police said Kenneth Atkinson, left, hired his nephew, Nathan Detroit, right, to kill his brother Ray Atkinson Jr. and Ray's fiancée, Natasha Newby, on August 15, 2020
Police found Ray Atkinson Jr. and Natasha Newby, pictured, dead from blunt force trauma
Investigators said they long suspected Atkinson, a former prison guard for the Nevada Department of Corrections, for the murders, but did not have enough evidence to connect him to the crime.
Police found that the brothers had been in a legal battle over the estate of their father, who died in 2019 without leaving a will.
They said Atkinson wanted to kill the couple out of a 'Cain and Abel' styled jealousy.
Hummel added that police knew early on that there was more than one suspect involved in the murders, and said they did not want to make an arrest early on in fear that it would give the accomplice time to flee.
Investigators did not discuss the new clues that led them to charge both Atkinson and Detroit.
Bend Police Department Chief Mike Krantz said investigators had gathered nearly 500 pieces of evidence for the case.
'I am hopeful that this arrest will bring a small measure of closure and peace to the family and friends of Ray and Natasha,' Krantz said in a statement.
Racheil Hoffman, Newby's sister, had been pushing for law enforcement to make an arrest during the long investigation period, and said she was finally felt at ease following Atkinson and Detroit's arrest.
'Just knowing that they're behind bars, and there's no bail, is a huge relief off of our backs,' Hoffman told KTVZ.
She said the family was heartbroken following news of Ray and Newby's death, as the couple was preparing to get married in the spring of 2021.
'They're finally going to get their justice.' Hoffman said.
Dave Newby, Natasha's father, told The Bulletin that he would be comfortable with the two suspects receiving a sentence of life in prison.
'Death is too easy,' he said. 'I want 'em to suffer.'
Racheil Hoffman, pictured, is the sister of Natasha Newby. Hoffman and her family had been pressing law enforcement to make an arrest in the murder of Newby and her fiancée
Deschutes County District Attorney John Hummel, left, said police were hard at work over the past year, building a case against Kenneth Atkinson and Nathan Detroit
The couple was found dead inside their home in Bend, Oregon
Atkinson and Detroit were each charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one counts of first-degree conspiracy to commit murder. They are being held in Deschutes County Jail without bail.
The men made their first court appearance on October 4, with the state calling in 26 witnesses to testify, the Associated Press reports.
Atkinson appeared in court by video wearing a black face mask and an orange sweatshirt.
The men's local public defenders declined to comment on the case.
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