Ashland, Ore. — NBC5 News first reported the story on Wednesday about Ashland Police publicly naming a person of interest in the David Grubbs murder case. Now there’s also a new lead detective to head the investigation.
On Thursday NBC5 sat down with Cherie Grubbs, David’s mother, who says she’s hopeful police will be able to solve her son’s murder.
“This is the first time in three years and three months that they’ve actually named a possible person of interest which gives me some hope,” said Cherie Grubbs.
Grubbs has been on an emotional roller coaster since her son David was brutally murdered on the Ashland bike path in 2011.
However now police have publicly named a person of interest, someone they’ve had on their radar for some time now. The man, Christian Delaurentiis.
“He is the one that the Ashland Police Department is finally willing to talk about,” said Grubbs.
The 32-year-old recently pleaded guilty to killing and dismembering his roommate in Washington County. Investigators in Ashland said they believe he was living in or around Ashland at the time of Grubbs’ murder.
“My personal feeling is that maybe this is the guy,” said Grubbs.
“My understanding is that several people came forward and said look at this guy,” she continued.
The last time someone was named a person of interest was in December 2011. That man was later cleared.
Since then, no other names have been made public until now.
“I heard his name three years ago. We were all hopeful that he was a possible suspect,” Grubbs said.
However she said she heard nothing more about Delaurentiis after that because he was being charged for murder in Washington County and had a lawyer.
Ashland Deputy Chief Tighe O’Meara said while Delaurentiis is a person of interest, he’s not a suspect. Ashland Police still have not named a suspect.
Cherie Grubbs won’t be resting easy, until someone is in jail for her son’s murder. For now, she said she hopes people won’t forget about her son’s murder.
“I have always been vocal about wanting it to stay in the public light,” she said.
Ashland Police said now that Christian Delaurentiis will be serving life in prison for the murder he committed in Washington County, they’re hoping people who may have information about him will feel a sense of safety and be more willing to come forward and talk.
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