The subject of an exhaustive manhunt in the mountains of southwestern Oregon died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after an hours-long standoff with police Tuesday night.
Benjamin Obadiah Foster, who had previously been convicted of torturing a girlfriend in Nevada, was accused of holding another woman captive and torturing her last week, as CrimeOnline previously reported.
The woman, who is still hospitalized in critical condition, was found near death at a home in Grants Pass last Tuesday. Foster, 36, fled and apparently began using dating apps to solicit help eluding police, investigators said.
On Thursday, police raided a home in the remote Wolf Creek community and arrested 68-year-old Tina Marie Jones, charging her with hindering prosecution. They also seized Foster’s vehicle, but he escaped.
Oregon State Police said on Wednesday that they believe Foster is responsible for a double homicide in Sunny Valley, about 16 miles from Grants Pass, on Monday night, KTVL reported. The victims were identified as Richard Lee Baron Jr. and Donald Owen Griffith, both of whom lived on the property. They died from blunt force trauma, investigators said.
State police said several items were missing from the home, including a dog, and that a cab picked up Foster in the area Tuesday morning and took him back to the house in Grants Pass where the attempted murder and kidnapping took place
By Tuesday night, police pinned Foster down beneath the house where the tortured woman was found last week. CBS Radio reported that police fired tear gas and bullets into the house, using a bullhorn to order him out. Hours later, police found Foster suffering from a single gunshot wound to the head and took him to a hospital, where he died.
In the previous incident, Foster was accused of torturing and assaulting a girlfriend, as CrimeOnline previously reported. She eventually escaped after suffering broken ribs, black eyes, and being forced to drink lye.
Foster reached a deal with Clark County prosecutors in 2021 and pleaded guilty to one felony count of battery and one misdemeanor count of battery. He was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison, with the time he spent awaiting trial factoring into the time he actually spent.
At the time of that arrest, he was out of custody on a suspended sentence for carrying a concealed weapon without a permit, and he was awaiting trial on a domestic violence case from 2018. The 2021 plea deal, however, includes the 2018 case, for which he was sentenced to time served.
Warrants were out this week charging Foster with attempted murder, kidnapping, and assault in the attack on the Grants Pass woman.
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[Featured image: Benjamin Obadiah Foster/Grants Pass Police Department]
