Christian Longo

Christian Michael Longo is a convicted murderer who committed his crimes in the U.S. state of Oregon.[1]

Originating from Ypsilanti Township, Michigan, Longo was raised as a Jehovah's Witness. He married Mary Jane (née Baker) at age 19 and they had three children together. He and his family often encountered financial difficulties due to his reckless spending habits.[2]

Murders

Longo was a wanted man in connection with the murder of Mary Jane and their three children. After the body of his four-year-old son, Zachery, was found on December 19, 2001, divers located that of his three-year-old daughter, Sadie. Those of Mary Jane and their two-year-old daughter, Madison, were found five days later. After he fled the United States, he 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. He 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 George Bush Intercontinental Airport on January 14, 2002.[3] He was sentenced to death in 2003.[4]

Years later, Longo admitted to being a narcissist in a letter he wrote to KATU-TV, a Portland, Oregon, television station. He wrote 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 called Prison Lives with his girlfriend. It publishes resource guides for prisoners.

References

  1. "Oregon Man Guilty Of Killing His Family Gets Death Sentence". The New York Times. April 17, 2003.
  2. 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.
  3. "FBI Agents Transport Christian Michael Longo Back to the United States" (Press release). FBI.gov. January 14, 2002. Retrieved December 22, 2011.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
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