Triple Murder Suspect Turns Himself In After Allegedly Abducting Woman In Oregon And Forcing Her To Drive Him 2,000 Miles

A man wanted for killing his own father and two others turned himself in to Wisconsin authorities after kidnapping an Oregon woman at gunpoint and forcing her to drive him more than 2,000 miles, according to authorities.

Springfield Police said Oen Nicholson is now in custody in Wisconsin, after allegedly abducting 34-year-old Laura Johnson during her lunch break on Friday afternoon in Springfield, Oregon and forcing her to drive him in her vehicle across the country, according to a statement from authorities.

“He approached her in her vehicle with a gun,” her father Dennis Johnson told local station KEZI. “They said she was forced to drive 33 hours to where they’re at. She was able to talk him into turning himself in.”

Johnson was not harmed during the harrowing ordeal and was flying back home to be with her family over the weekend.

Nicholson is suspected of killing three people in North Bend, Oregon in a spree that began Friday morning with the death of his father, 83-year-old Charles Simms Nicholson.

Authorities said Nicholson allegedly shot his father to death at an RV park before stealing his truck and running over two people at the RV park near the Mill Casino.

Coos County District Attorney R. Paul Frasier said during a press conference that Anthony Oyster, 74, died at the scene while his wife 73-year-old Linda Oyster remains in critical condition and was in “pretty bad shape.”

Nicholson is accused of killing a third person, 47-year-old Jennifer L. Davidson, inside the Herbal Choices cannabis shop in North Bend, The Oregonian reports.

A surveillance image released by authorities during the press conference showed him walking into the shop with a gun drawn and pointed in front of him.

Davidson died from “apparent gunshot wounds,” Fraiser said.

Authorities said they are still investigating whether Davidson had any connection to Nicholson or whether it was a random attack.

The stolen truck was later found after a crash and had been set on fire. A witness reported seeing a person get out of the truck armed with a handgun, before disappearing into the woods nearby.

Authorities believe he then fled to the area where Johnson had been on her lunch break from her job at Cabela’s before allegedly abducting her and forcing her to drive him across the country.

“Words fall short of describing the tragedy that took place on Friday and the ensuing events in Lane County and we are all left incredibly shaken,” North Bend Mayor Jessica Engelke said at a later press conference. “This is something that you hope never happens in your community in the town that you call home.”

Frasier said that Nicholson is now facing 10 charges including six counts of murder in the first degree, one count of attempted murder in the second degree, one count of assault in the first-degree, and two counts of failure to perform duties of a driver to injured persons.

Although he is facing six counts of first-degree murder because of how the first-degree murder statute in the state reads, Frasier said Nicholson is only accused of killing three people.

Oregon authorities plan to begin the extradition process back to Oregon, after Nicholson appears in court in Wisconsin, Frasier said.

North Bend Police Chief Robert Kappelman said there is still "a lot of work that has to be done yet" in the investigation. 

He thanked the multiple law enforcement agencies and others who assisted in making an arrest in the case. 

“The work for these families that have been effected by this, that work can’t be done without the support all around and we felt that,” he said. “The team worked diligently with the goal of finding the truth for these victims and I can’t thank them enough.”