Craigen’s new trial is almost two years away
By Terry Murry on Monday, June 19th, 2023 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
PENDLETON – George West Craigen, 61, will be awaiting a new trial for a long time. The former Milton-Freewater resident won the right to a new trial from the Oregon Supreme Court based on evidentiary issues in the trial that saw him convicted for killing Cecil “Rob” Carter in 2014.
“The trial is actually set for March of 2025,” Umatilla County District Attorney Dan Primus said. “We have quite a bit of time until that case will come to trial.”
Primus cited the busy schedule of Craigen’s attorney, Elizabeth Baker from Eugene, as one of the reasons for the long wait. However, he said it benefits the state as well.
“Some of our officers who worked on this case are retired now,” he said. “Some of our witnesses have moved out of state, so there’s a little bit of prep work that we’re going to have to do to locate our witnesses and get them back.”
He said both he and Chief Deputy District Attorney Jaclyn Jenkins remain confident in their case. Craigen is being held on $5 million bail. The judge appointed to hear the case is Judge Paul Crowley of the Seventh Circuit Court District (encompassing The Dalles and Hood River).
MyCB file photo from Craigen’s original arrest.
