Christian Longo
Christian Micheal Longo aka "Shortstop" is a convicted murderer who committed his crimes in the U.S. state of Oregon.[1]
He originated from Ypsilanti Township, Michigan, and was raised as a Jehovah's Witness. He married his wife Mary Jane (née Baker) while he was age 19, and the two had three children. He and his family often encountered financial trouble due to his spending habits.[2]
Murders
Longo was a wanted man in connection with the murder of his wife and three children in Oregon. After the body of his four-year-old son was found on December 19, 2001, divers located the body of his three-year-old daughter. The bodies of Longo's wife and two-year-old daughter were found five days later. After he fled the United States, Longo was recognized in Cancún on December 27, 2001, at a hotel. The next day, in Lincoln County, Oregon, a federal arrest warrant issued in the United States District Court for the District of Oregon charged him with multiple counts of aggravated murder and unlawful flight. Longo left the hotel on January 7, 2002, and was captured six days later without incident in the small town of Tulum, Quintana Roo, about 80 miles south of Cancún. He was taken into U.S. custody at the Houston airport, Texas, on January 14, 2002.[3] Longo was sentenced in 2003 to death. He has asked to be buried in his boots.[4]
Years later, Longo admitted to being a narcissist in a letter he wrote to KATU-TV, a Portland, Oregon, television station. He wrote, in his letter, that he eventually began "studying what a psychologist said I was and came to terms with it, almost totally agreeing that he was right ... his conclusion was the narcissistic personality disorder which he called 'compensatory' – basically self-centeredness related to a damaged core sense of self."[5]
When in Mexico, Longo used the name of Michael Finkel, the former New York Times reporter who later chronicled their experiences in his memoir True Story.[6] This was later made into the 2015 film of the same name.
Longo is currently incarcerated at Oregon State Penitentiary, where he helps run a publishing company Prison Lives with his girlfriend Bianca Clark. Prison Lives publishes resource guides for prisoners.
References
- ↑ "Oregon Man Guilty Of Killing His Family Gets Death Sentence". The New York Times. April 17, 2003.
- ↑ Dodd, Johnny. "Murderer Depicted in Movie True Story Tells PEOPLE: 'I Don't Feel I Can Be Redeemed'" (Archive). People. April 17, 2015. Retrieved on January 26, 2016.
- ↑ "FBI Agents Transport Christian Michael Longo Back to the United States" (Press release). FBI.gov. January 14, 2002. Retrieved December 22, 2011.
- ↑ Steve Duin (May 2, 2011). "His victim's sister calls Christian Longo a 'monster' who won't let the family heal". The Oregonian. Retrieved January 7, 2015.
- ↑ Anna Canzano (August 9, 2012). "Christian Longo writes about his dead family". KATU. Archived from the original on May 26, 2015. Retrieved May 26, 2015.
- ↑ Wiegand, David (June 11, 2005). "After getting fired by the New York Times for lying in print, a reporter stumbled on the story of his life". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved April 14, 2015.