An Oregon man in Clark County custody since 2019 has been released after charges of murder stemming from the 1994 death of Audrey Hoellein were dropped.
On Nov. 30, Clark County Superior Court Judge Robert Lewis granted a motion to dismiss charges of first- and second-degree murder with sexual motivation against Richard Knapp, 60, of Fairview, Oregon. Knapp was arrested on April 28, 2019, after investigators in the cold case of Hoellein’s death found DNA evidence they believe linked Knapp to the crime.
The prosecution moved to dismiss the charges after a new deposition cast doubt on the case. Defense attorneys pointed to recent statements from a neighbor of Hoellein, also known as Audrey Frasier, which impacted the case, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported.
Clark County Prosecuting Attorney Tony Golik told OPB his office is “no longer convinced beyond a reasonable doubt” that Knapp was responsible.
“We were ethically bound at that point to dismiss the prosecution,” Golik told OBP.
On July 17, 1994, Vancouver police found Hoellein dead in one of the units at the Family Tree Apartments, a probable cause affidavit for Knapp’s arrest stated. Evidence at the scene was gathered to create a suspect profile, though years went by while no matches were found.
Knapp was arrested after what investigators at the time believed was a breakthrough in the cold case. In 2018, detectives from the major crime unit contacted a company that provides genetic genealogy to help with the case. Through a combination of genetic analysis of the sample and more traditional genealogical methods, the company was able to provide information that led to leads on who Hoellein’s killer was.
The leads led to Knapp, with investigators noticing similarities in Hoellein’s case and a 1986 sexual assault conviction Knapp pleaded guilty to, according to the affidavit.
Though he provided a DNA sample at the time of the conviction, it was never uploaded to a database. Investigators seized a cigarette butt thrown outside of Knapp’s work to be analyzed during “covert surveillance,” according to the affidavit, which led to his arrest.
Knapp’s attorneys told OPB they believed detectives “missed key lines of inquiry” before taking Knapp into custody. They characterized the reliance on DNA evidence as a “silver bullet” detectives sought in the case.
“It’s, in my mind, a constant reminder that law enforcement can’t forgo good policework because they have a new toy or a new theory,” attorney Shon Bogar told OPB.
Knapp’s case was dismissed without prejudice, meaning new charges can be brought against Knapp in the case later on.
aker said. “We wanted to try to offset that type of initial perception with our development.”
