cold case

Oregon Man Arrested in 1974 Cold Case Murders of 2 Teens

Steven Paul Criss, 65, used the same .22 caliber gun in the 1974 homicides of the two teens and then in a 1976 slaying of his commanding officer in the Army, officials said

Cold Case Oregon
Washington County Sheriff’s Office

An Oregon man was arrested this week after being linked to the 1974 cold case homicides of two teenagers, authorities said.

Steven Paul Criss, 65, of Aloha, was a teenager himself when he allegedly used a .22 caliber gun to fatally shoot teens Donald Bartron and Peter Zito Jr. in the parking lot of a recreation center on Oct. 3, 1974, according to a statement from the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.

The bodies of Bartron, 16, and Zito Jr., 18, were found on the ground next to a 1956 Oldsmobile that had its hood popped open as the teens worked on it. Bartron and Zito were shot in the head, according to the sheriff’s office.

Det. Mark Povolny said Friday during a news conference that Criss was an early suspect in the case, after he was arrested in December of 1974 for theft and a deputy found a .22 caliber gun. The weapon was tested to see if it matched evidence in the teens’ slayings, Povolny said.

Read the full story at NBCNews.com.

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