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A 65-year-old Oregon man and murderer has been arrested in connection with the 1974 double slaying of two teenagers, a case that went cold after ballistics evidence failed to link suspects at the time, authorities said Friday. The Army veteran served 12 years in prison for shooting his commanding officer in 1976.
A grand jury indicted Steven Paul Criss on two counts of the Oct. 3, 1974, shooting deaths of 16-year-old Donald Bartron and 18-year-old Peter Zito Jr. at an entertainment center. parking lot in the Oak Hills community west of Portland, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office said at a press conference Friday. Chris was arrested Wednesday near his Portland-area home.
Bartron and Zito Jr. were shot multiple times in the head with a .22-caliber handgun while working on a 1956 Oldsmobile, the Sheriff’s Office said. The bodies of the two teenagers were found near the vehicle, which had its hood and trunk open.
Washington County Sheriff’s Office
During the investigation, a detective found that Bartron worked with Chris at the Black Angus restaurant, and the sheriff’s office said Chris had reason to be upset with the two victims.
Chris was arrested for burglary in December 1974 and became an early suspect in the case after authorities found an illegally concealed .22 caliber handgun, sheriff’s Det. Mark Povolny said Friday. A crime lab examined it but did not find a gun matching the one used in the murder, the sheriff’s office said.
However, Chris’ gun became the focus of an investigation into another shooting death two years later. In 1976, Chris joined the U.S. Army and was stationed at Fort Lewis in Washington state, the sheriff’s office said. In October 1976, his commanding officer, Sgt. Jacob “Kim” Brown was shot and killed. Investigators found Chris used the same gun to shoot Brown, Povolny said.
At that point, investigators learned that Chris had borrowed Brown’s car and damaged it, but instead of paying hundreds of dollars for repairs, Chris shot Brown five times in the head.
Chris pleaded guilty to manslaughter in Brown’s shooting and was sentenced to 35 years in prison. However, he was released in 1988 after serving just 12 years, Povolny said.
Recently, Washington County detectives decided to look again at ballistics testing done on the same gun 50 years ago, in the unsolved murders of Zito and Bartron. After the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives submitted evidence, investigators received notice that Chris’ gun was a presumptive match.
After further testing at the Oregon State Police Forensic Lab, authorities determined that the gun Chris used to kill Brown was the same weapon used in the murders of Bartron and Zito Jr.
“To date, this is the oldest known match nationwide confirmed by ATF for a prosecutable case,” Povolny said Friday.
Zito Jr.’s sister, Barbara, attended Friday’s news conference. Washington County Sheriff Pat Garrett thanked them and the victims’ families for their patience in the pursuit of justice.
“I want to acknowledge the loss of your loved ones years ago and the wait you’ve had to endure today,” Garrett said.
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