BEND, Ore. (AP) - Prosecutors in an Oregon murder case brought a witness to the stand who says the suspect told her he "silenced" his victim "forever" and "finished it."
Testimony from the witness who police say was kidnapped by the suspect was heard on Thursday at an evidentiary hearing for the July 2016 killing of Kaylee Sawyer.
The Bend Bulletin reports witness Aundreah Elizabeth Maes was interviewed by police after Edwin Lara was arrested in connection to Sawyer's death.
Lara is charged with four counts of aggravated murder. The 32-year-old faces the death penalty if convicted.
Lara is accused of running over Sawyer with his Central Oregon Community College campus public safety vehicle and then putting her in the trunk and killing her.
He is then accused of kidnapping the witness Maes and fleeing to California.
Background: State to seek death penalty in Bend murder
