A request by Corey Christensen — brother of the Portland musician found dead alongside his dog near Walupt Lake south of Packwood in August 2022 — and his attorney to refer the investigation into his brother’s death to the Washington state Attorney General’s Office has been declined by the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office.
The Lewis County investigation into Aron Christensen’s death has been rife with controversy since its beginning, with rumors of a possible coverup leading to protests and culminating in a $20 million claim against the county by Christensen’s estate as more facts about the bungled investigation came to light.
Citing the errors of the Lewis County investigation, Corey Christensen and his attorney, Pilar C. French, of the Seattle-based law firm Lane Powell, sent a letter to Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer and Gov. Jay Inslee on Thursday, May 25, asking “one or both of your offices to refer this matter immediately to the Washington Attorney General, Robert Ferguson, for further investigation and possible prosecution.”
The letter was written and sent independently of Aron Christensen’s estate, which filed the claim against the county — a precursor to a likely lawsuit — alleging the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office “maliciously damaged the estate’s property, one deceased puppy, in order to sabotage a criminal investigation.”
Corey Christensen forwarded a copy of the letter to media outlets on Sunday, June 4.
Meyer told The Chronicle Monday, June 5, he had read the letter and responded.
When asked whether he would forward the case to the state Attorney General’s Office, Meyer said, “I've already considered it and decided we're not going to do that. The Attorney General's Office handles very few criminal cases and in fact they come to us often for criminal cases in Lewis County."
In an April 14 letter to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) explaining his decision not to file charges against the primary suspect in the case, Ethan Asbach, 20, of Tenino, Meyer called the case “problematic from the onset” and referred specifically to the first-responding deputy’s “obvious error” in indicating detectives weren't needed, possible cross-contamination during the autopsy, and the contradictory necropsies.
That letter concluded with Meyer stating “Additional information has been requested to explore other possible aspects of the case.”
While French stated she and her client “appreciate” Meyer’s identification of “other avenues for LCSO to explore,” she stated, “At this point, it is not appropriate to leave the investigation to LCSO and others who may have compromised the investigation so far. Rather, this case calls for an independent and thorough review by the attorney general.”
Said Meyer, “There is nothing to be gained (by forwarding the case). The investigation is over, so there's no new information that we have or that we believe is out there that would change the decision."
Of the content in the letter, Meyer said, "We probably disagree on some of the conclusions," but that there was nothing in it he felt to be incorrect.
The governor's office does have the ability to forward the case, though Meyer said it has mostly declined to do so in previous cases.
Because Christensen was an Oregon resident, French copied “various federal and Oregon state officials” on the letter asking for an independent review “because they too have a vested interest in ensuring that Washington law enforcement officials equally protect Oregonians and other non-Washington residents when alleged crimes occur within Washington’s borders,” French wrote.
She added, “If Washington cannot assist, the federal government should intervene.”
Inslee had not publicly commented on the case as of Monday, June 5.
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Chronicle Assistant Editor Isabel Vander Stoep contributed to this article.
