Russell Obremski: A Killer's Luck

While everyone anticipated another incident, another arrest, another trial, another sentence, nobody expected what happened next. March 18, 1994, just four months after being paroled, Russell Obremski was arrested again. This time it was for first-degree sexual abuse and first-degree sodomy against a 4-year-old girl. The child was a relative of his fiancée's.

I-told-you-so's were rampant in the media and among those in the penal and parole systems. Obremski said he'd been set up by his fiancée's relatives to keep her from marrying him. With all the media hype, Obremski considered himself a political prisoner.

Judge Sawyer, who originally sentenced Obremski after his murder trial, told a 48 Hours update that the only thing that surprised him about the new allegations was the age of the victim. Oregon was again horrified. The citizens, the media, LaVerna Lowe's children, Betty Ritchie's boys, all were on the edge of their seats.

After his arrest, Obremski was denied bail. Not because of his history, nor because of the severity of this crime. No, he was denied bail because he had committed a parole violation. He drank half of a beer on Valentine's Day.