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Ryan S. Blinston

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Ryan Scott Blinston
Born
Ryan Scott Blinston

1983/1984
California
OccupationTree trimmer
Years active2020
Criminal statusIncarcerated
Conviction(s)Murder (x3)
Attempted murder (x2)
Arson
Resisting arrest
Criminal penaltyLife imprisonment without parole
Comments3
Details
CountryUnited States
State(s)California
Date apprehended
June 14, 2020

Ryan Scott Blinston is an American spree killer and arsonist who murdered three women in Oroville, California, between May and June of 2020. His modus operandi typically consisted of murdering clients he worked for at his tree-trimming job. Blinston was caught by a SWAT team while attempting to murder another man with a hatchet.[1] He was later found guilty of the murders and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.[2]

Murders

On the evening of May 23, 2020, Blinston broke into the Los Molinos home of Loreen Severs, 88, and Homer Severs, 91. After locating them in the house, Blinston cut the throats of the couple, killing Loreen Severs, and injuring Homer Severs. Five days prior to the attack, Blinston did tree-trimming work at the Severs' house as part of his landscaping job. GPS evidence indicated that Blinston returned to the house the evening before the murders in what the police described as a "scouting trip." Blinston then returned to his home in Oroville.[3]

Then, on June 4, 2020, Blinston did tree-trimming work as part of a landscaping team serviced at the Oroville home of Sandra George, 82. After the landscaping crew left, Blinston went back to the home by himself, and fatally stabbed Sandra George in the throat. Her body was found at 5:00 p.m. the following day.[4][5]

Two days later, on June 6, 2020, 56-year-old Vicky Cline was last seen alive with Ryan Blinston in downtown Oroville. On the same day, Cline's car was set on fire between Pine Street and Robinson street in Oroville. An investigation revealed that the car had been deliberately set ablaze with an accelerant.[6] On June 21, 2020, Vicky Cline's remains were found by a fisherman in the Feather River near Beldon, California. Like the other victims, her throat was slashed.[7]

Capture

Authorities forensically matched blood and DNA found on Blinston's car to Vicky Cline. After a week of searching, the Butte County SWAT team located his whereabouts on June 14, 2020: a motorhome in a wooded area of Brush Creek, California. When the SWAT team arrived, they found Blinston trying to break into the home with a hatchet. Bliston then ran into the forest, but was caught shortly after.[8]

The owner of the motorhome was a 50-year-old man who allowed Blinston to stay at the home overnight. After the man went to sleep, he woke up to Blinston attacking him with a knife. Despite being stabbed in the throat, the man was able fight-off Blinston and lock him out. Blinston then walked away from the motorhome to retrieve a hatchet, he then returned and tried to break into the house again. The man was seriously injured, but survived.[9]

Trial

Blinston was charged with three counts of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted murder, arson, and resisting arrest, to which he pleaded not guilty. Blinston's trial started on May 2, 2022. Hundreds of pieces of evidence in the forms of photographs, diagrams, phone data, business records, and surveillance videos, were presented to the jury. Additionally, 35 witnesses testified against Blinston. Ryan Blinston himself did not testify. Blinston was found guilty on all charges on August 4, 2022, and received three life sentences without the possibility of parole.[10]

See also

References

  1. ^ Pelisek, Christine (2022-04-20). "Northern California Tree Trimmer Convicted in Series of Throat-Slashings That Killed 3, Injured More". Peoplemag. Retrieved 2022-08-11.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. ^ "Tree trimmer found guilty in deadly serial throat-slashings". WKRC. 2022-05-22. Retrieved 2022-08-11.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. ^ Miller, Jax (2022-05-18). "Suspected Serial Killer Found Guilty Of Slashing The Throats Of Elderly Victims, Leaving Three Dead". Oxygen Official Site. Retrieved 2022-08-11.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. ^ Mackey, Meaghan (2020-06-06). "Police investigating homicide after 82-year-old woman found dead in Oroville". KRCR. Retrieved 2022-08-11.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. ^ "California 'Serial Killer' Convicted of Murdering Three Women and Trying to Kill Two Men". Law & Crime. 2022-05-18. Retrieved 2022-08-11.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. ^ Anderaos, Deb (2020-06-22). "MISSING OROVILLE WOMAN'S BODY FOUND IN PLUMAS COUNTY". Action News Now. Archived from the original on 2021-04-03. Retrieved 2022-08-10.
  7. ^ Downs, Brandon (2022-05-17). "Suspected Oroville serial killer found guilty of murder, attempted murder charges". Action News Now. Retrieved 2022-08-11.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. ^ "California tree trimmer charged in deadly throat-slashings". AP NEWS. 2021-05-13. Retrieved 2022-08-11.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. ^ "Ryan Scott Blinston, Tree Trimmer From Oroville, Charged In Series Of Deadly Throat-Slashings". CBS News. 2021-04-13. Retrieved 2022-08-11.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  10. ^ "Convicted serial killer sentenced to three life terms without parole". Red Bluff Daily News. 2022-08-06. Retrieved 2022-08-11.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)

External links

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