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Bloody clothing visible at Ore. cabin where 2 shot to death

 
Tampa Bay Times
Published Oct. 5, 2013

At first glance, the one-room log cabin in the Blue Mountains of Oregon looks like any other deer camp: a wood stove for heat, soft drinks piled outside on the porch to keep them cold, and camouflage clothing hanging from the stairs leading to a loft.

Closer examination begins to tell a tragic story. A piece of clothing soaked in dark red blood lies crumpled on the floor near a bolt-action rifle with a telescopic sight, the bolt open.

The images are contained in photos released Friday by the Grant County Sheriff's Office, which says a 14-year-old boy shot and killed his foster father and another man at the cabin while they were on a deer-hunting trip in dense forest outside the tiny community of Granite.

The boy, who was not identified because of his age, shot and killed the two men at the cabin around midnight Wednesday, then ran off before accidentally shooting himself in the leg, Sheriff Glenn Palmer said.

He returned to the cabin for help, and another member of the hunting party held him at gunpoint and taped him to a chair until deputies arrived.

There was no word on a motive or possible charges against the teen. Palmer said he filled out a probable cause affidavit, listing two counts each of homicide and unlawful use of a firearm. He said the boy was expected to recover from the gunshot wound.

Little was known about the victims, Michael Piete, 43, and Kenneth C. Gilliland, 64, whose driver's licenses listed the same address on a country road outside Baker City, 25 miles east of the cabin.