Ashland, Ore. — New information is coming out about the horrific murder that rocked the Rogue Valley more than three years ago.
23-year-old David Grubbs was nearly decapitated on the Ashland bike path in November of 2011. Despite an exhaustive investigation, police still have no suspects.
However, now Ashland Police have publicly named a person of interest for the first time since 2011.
32-year-old Christian Delaurentiis, is a man who is familiar to Ashland detectives still working to find Grubbs’ killer.
“Christian Delaurentiis is a man that used to live in Ashland sometime ago. He moved to Washington County, Oregon and was since charged with and convicted of murdering his roommate in Aloha in Washington County,” said Ashland Police Deputy Chief Tighe O’Meara
According to Washington County Senior Deputy District Attorney Jeff Lesowski, Delaurentiis pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated murder and another count of abuse of a corpse. It’s been agreed to that Delaurentiis will be sentenced to life in prison for murdering and dismembering his roommate in Aloha, Oregon back in May 2012.
However, before that in November of 2011, detectives believe Delaurentiis was in the Ashland area when Grubbs was killed.
“There’s been several people that we’ve had a good hard look at,” said O’Meara.
One of them is Christian Delaurentiis, who until now has not been publicly named a person of interest in the Grubbs case.
“He clearly is capable of very violent behavior,” O’Meara said.
“He was here. He murdered his roommate in Aloha, dismembered the body. he has to be considered a viable candidate for having done this,” continued O’Meara.
Soon after Grubbs’ murder, Delaurentiis was charged with murdering his roommate in Washington County and he was appointed a lawyer.
O’Meara said that legal representation made the situation more complicated. However now that Delaurentiis has pleaded guilty and will spend life in prison, their job might become easier
“At the very least, yeah, we don’t have to go through a lawyer anymore,” said O’Meara.
Who is Christian Delaurentiis
According to Lesowski, the prosecutor in Washington County, while it has been agreed that Delaurentiis will spend life in prison with no possible chance of parole until 41 years have passed, his sentencing will not take place until March 2015 because of federal rules.
Lesowski said Delaurentiis also pleaded guilty to seven bank robberies from Medford to Portland, and when he did that, federal rules stated he had to be sentenced in Federal court first.
Investigators in Washington County said Delaurentiis killed his roommate 43-year-old Phillip Lindemuth, dismembered the body and put the parts in a freezer inside their home because Lindemuth threatened to expose Delaurentiis as a bank robber. Lindemuth had driven the getaway car in some of the bank robberies.
While Lesowski could not say much about Delaurentiis’ personality, he did say the 32-year-old is bright and calculated.
What’s next in the David Grubbs investigation
Back in Ashland, O’Meara said investigators will continue to look into Delaurentiis as a person of interest, but he stopped short of calling Delaurentiis a suspect as of yet.
“Obviously we haven’t arrested him. He hasn’t been charged with it,” began O’Meara.
“It could be that Christian Delaurentiis has nothing to do with the Grubbs case,” he continued.
However that’s still to be determined. Now O’Meara is hoping someone who knows something will come forward with information, now that Delaurentiis is locked up.
O’Meara said David Grubbs’ murder will only be solved through community involvement.
It’s possible to give anonymous tipsthrough the Ashland Police Department’s tip line at541-552-2333.
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