Seattle Man Charged In Slayings Of His Wife And Three Daughters

SCOTTS MILLS, Ore. - A Seattle man faces the possibility of the death penalty in the shooting deaths of his estranged wife and their three young daughters in this farming community 35 miles southeast of Portland.

David Whitson, 35, was charged with four counts of aggravated murder in the deaths yesterday of Laura Whitson, 35, and daughters Sarah, 6; Rachel, 3; and April, 6 months.

The Whitsons were in the midst of a bitter divorce, said Marion County District Attorney Dale Penn. He said Laura Whitson had obtained a restraining order against her husband and had moved to her mother's home in this Oregon town to escape him.

The shootings occurred in the front yard of the home, where neighbors reported hearing loud arguing over marital and legal problems before shots rang out.

Margaret Magee, Laura Whitson's mother, was shot in the arm and was treated and released from an area hospital.

Chris Laing, a neighbor and friend of the family, tackled the armed man after the shooting and held him until deputies arrived.

"When you see a real close friend of the family lying dead on the ground, you usually don't think twice about what you're doing," said Laing's son, Steven.

Carl Ellison, a neighbor, said Laing, a muscular 5-foot-6-inch man, weighing 250 pounds, easily overpowered Whitson.

Deputies recovered a long gun, either a rifle or a shotgun, that they said was used in the shootings.

Word of the shootings spread quickly through the town of 295 residents. Postmaster Laurel Milmore said the shots could be heard four to five blocks away.