PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A Clackamas County jury has found Chad Michael Westover, 53, guilty of second-degree murder and unlawful use of a weapon for the fatal stabbing of postal worker Tristan Thomas during a confrontation at a Southeast Sunnyside Road apartment complex in 2024.
According to the Clackamas County District Attorney’s Office, the conflict began earlier that day when Thomas argued with a neighbor, Christopher Stewart. After Thomas pepper-sprayed Stewart, the situation escalated later that night when Stewart, Westover, and Westover’s cousin Samantha Christensen confronted Thomas outside his apartment.
Court records show Thomas armed himself with a kitchen knife and called 911 before retreating to the stairwell of his apartment. Video evidence captured the tense exchange, including a moment when Christensen said, “I’m done, take care of it, Chad.”
Prosecutors said Westover then attacked Thomas in a violent, three-minute struggle that was recorded on Thomas’s 911 call. Witnesses and Thomas’s mother pleaded with Westover to stop, but Thomas suffered multiple stab wounds, including a fatal slash to a major artery in his neck. He died at the hospital on October 3, 2024, more than a week after the assault.
Westover fled the scene but was arrested five days later at an Oregon City post office. He reportedly claimed his injuries came from a motorcycle accident.
Defense attorneys argued that Thomas was intoxicated and aggressive, suggesting Westover acted in self-defense. However, jurors sided with prosecutors, finding Westover guilty on both counts.
Westover remains in custody at the Clackamas County Jail without bail and is scheduled to be sentenced on November 17.
