BEND, Ore. – Four Counts of Aggravated Murder. That’s the word from a Deschutes County grand jury which has indicted 31 year-old Edwin Lara, the former Central Oregon Community College campus public safety officer in the killing of 23-year-old Kaylee Sawyer back in July, according to court documents.
An order has been issued by the judge not to comment on the case, however prosecutors believe Lara abducted and sexually abused Sawyer, as well as killing her.
With the indictment, Deschutes County District Attorney John Hummel could seek the death penalty in the case.
The second count accuses Lara of committing first-degree sex abuse and in the course of that crime, causing Sawyer’s death.
The third aggravated murder count alleges Lara caused Sawyer’s death in an effort to conceal the woman’s abduction.
The fourth count accuses Lara of killing her in an effort to hide his identity.
Kaylee Sawyer went for a walk shortly after midnight on July 24 after attending a bachelorette party. She had gotten into an argument with her boyfriend, who she’d called for a ride home. Kaylee was never seen alive again – her disappearance prompted an extended search.
Lara’s wife, a Bend police officer recruit, according to court records, questioned her husband the next day about his strange behavior. Lara allegedly told her he’d struck Sawyer with his campus patrol car and then disposed of her body.
Lara and his wife are Redmond residents, and Bend police said she immediately told Redmond police what she learned from her husband.
Sawyer’s body later was found in a small canyon off state Highway 126 between Redmond and Sisters. An autopsy confirmed she died of blunt force trauma.
Lara is also accused of fleeing to California, car jacking a vehicle and abducting a woman while fleeing.
He is due back in a California courtroom on Tuesday. He has refused to waive extradition, delaying his return to Oregon to face the current murder charges.
