John Jefferson
Left: Jose Lucas Morfin Jr. (Washington County Sheriff’s Office). Right: Mary McDowell (Washington County Sheriff’s Office). Background: The area near McDowell’s residence where her body was found (Google Maps).
An Oregon man has been indicted for manslaughter over the death of his far more senior partner, authorities announced.
On Dec. 13, Mary McDowell, 64, was found dead outside of her home in Sherwood – a small town and part of the Portland metro area.
Later that same day, Jose Lucas Morfin Jr., 38, was behind bars – arrested in connection with her death. Formal charges were delivered by a Washington County grand jury late last week.
The defendant now stands accused of one count of manslaughter in the first degree, as well as two counts of second-degree assault, and one count each of second-degree abuse of a corpse, unlawful use of a weapon, and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
The investigation began on the morning of Friday the 13th, when McDowell’s body was found on Southwest Edy Road, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office told Portland-based NBC affiliate KGW.
The grim discovery was made during the early morning hours, according to the sheriff’s office – the woman’s body was found on the thoroughfare near her rural residence at around 4:40 a.m.
Before Morfin was arrested, however, a spokesperson for the law enforcement agency told the TV station that the woman’s death did not appear to be “homicidal or intentional.”
The defendant was detained at the scene of the awful find and initially charged with assault, according to KGW.
Details in the case are presently scarce.
Morfin, for his part, has insisted upon his innocence.
During his arraignment, he requested a public defender and addressed one of McDowell’s family members who was presumably somewhere in the gallery or otherwise listening to the proceedings, according to a courtroom report by Portland-based Fox affiliate KPTV.
“I know my sister-in-law, Lori Humphry, is listening,” Morfin reportedly said. “Lori, please don’t listen to the propaganda. Lori, I was there with Mary and I tried to revive her!”
In response to what was reportedly perceived as an outburst, the judge overseeing the matter reminded the defendant of his right to remain silent. He reportedly did not exercise that right.
“Lori, I love Mary with all my heart,” Morfin said before he was ushered away by a bailiff.
The victim’s family released a lengthy statement – a combined eulogy and plea about the case – to multiple local media outlets.
“As a family, we are deeply saddened by the circumstances surrounding the death of our beloved Mary Longway McDowell,” a copy of the statement obtained by KGW reads. “Mary was a sweet, kind, caring soul with a delightful giggle who spent her entire life serving and caring for others. She cared for many family members at the end of their lives including her sister, her late husband, both of her parents and even other residents at her mother’s memory care facility. She was always available to help friends, neighbors, and strangers.”
The statement goes on:
She helped so many people throughout her lifetime, and we are asking the public to help her now. If you have any information or had contact with her individually or encountered her with her partner, Jose Lucas Morfin Jr. in recent years, please reach out to the detectives assigned to this case. Details that you might not think are importantly could be very helpful to gain greater understanding of what led up to her death. We, as a family, also request that the public refrain from speculating about her especially on social media as that is very hurtful to her grieving family members.
The victim’s cause of death has not been fully released, but prosecutors believe violence was involved, according to a threadbare copy of the indictment obtained by KGW.
Morfin has pleaded not guilty to the charges. He is currently being detained in the Washington County Jail.
Law enforcement say the investigation is ongoing.
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