By David Lohr

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January 31, 2007

WINCHESTER, Va. (Crime Library) —  It has been nearly four months since Jessi Ashton Jephson, 20, was charged in connection with the killing of four family members.  Jephson now faces additional charges in those crimes.

 

Jephson is the prime suspect in the Oct. 5, 2006, shooting deaths of his ex-girlfriend Amanda Orndorff, 19, her son Christopher, 23 months, her father Samuel William Orndorff, 60, and her nephew Travis Putman, 17.  County deputies and Winchester police arrested Jephson shortly after the murders.  According to police reports, he confessed to shooting Amanda at the time of his arrest.

Autopsy reports released by the Virginia's state medical examiner's office show that Amanda and Christopher Orndorff both died from gunshot wounds to the head and back.  Amanda's body was found in a bedroom, and Christopher was found in the living room.  Samuel Orndorff died from a single gunshot wound to the head.  His body was recovered from a vehicle in the driveway.  The last body discovered was that of Travis Putman, who was found in the house next door at 839 Hunting Ridge, where Jephson lived.  He died as a result of gunshot wounds to the chest and head.

Jephson was initially charged with one count of capital murder and one count of first-degree murder in the deaths of Samuel and Amanda Orndorff.  Last month, he was charged with two more counts of capital murder and two additional counts of first-degree murder in the deaths Christopher Orndorff and Travis Putman.  Three weeks later, a grand jury indicted him on several other charges, including capital murder of more than one person within a three-year period and two counts of using a firearm during a murder.  He also faces grand larceny charges for stealing the handgun he used in the crimes and auto theft charges for stealing a 1999 Dodge Dakota pickup truck on the day of the murders.

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Contact  David Lohr at           pa_crime_writer@velocity.net

Jessi Ashton Jephson Massacres Virginia Family

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