Murmurs: Judge Denies Anonymity in Grave Dispute

JUDGE DENIES ANONYMITY IN GRAVE DISPUTE: In a reversal of his earlier opinion, Multnomah County Circuit Judge Christopher Ramras ruled Aug. 19 that the plaintiffs in a dispute over a Northwest Hills gravesite cannot press their case anonymously. “This court does not doubt that revealing the Smiths’ [a pseudonym] name may cause them embarrassment,” Ramas wrote. “Despite the risk of such embarrassment, this is simply not the type of unusual case where such risk trumps the public’s interest in open court proceedings with the parties identified.” Ramras added that his earlier decision to allow the Smiths to proceed anonymously was “in error,” and his reconsideration came after WW filed a public records request seeking disclosure of the Smiths’ identities. Attorneys for the defendant, Paula Tin Nyo, whose son’s remains are in the disputed grave, said in papers filed in court that they had reason to believe the Smiths were in fact the Reser family, whose name graces the Oregon State University football stadium (“Grave Concerns,” WW, Aug. 7). Tin Nyo’s attorney, Gracey Nagle, applauded the judge’s decision: “When Judge Ramras initially ruled in Skyline’s favor, he did so with the caveat that he might revisit his decision later in the case. We are very happy that he did and believe this is the right outcome under Oregon’s open courts doctrine.” Attorneys representing the Smiths and Skyline Memorial Gardens, which sold the disputed gravesite twice, did not respond to requests for comment.

ARSONIST WHO DESTROYED CENTURY-OLD CHURCH FOUND GUILTY EXCEPT FOR INSANITY: Nicolette Fait, 29, has been found guilty except for insanity in the destruction of the 119-year-old downtown Portland Korean Church. After setting the three-alarm fire early last year, Fait walked into the Multnomah County Detention Center to “take credit” for the blaze, saying that voices in her head threatened to “mutilate” Fait if she didn’t burn it down. A doctor later diagnosed Fait with schizoaffective disorder. On Aug. 7, Judge Nan Waller found her guilty of multiple counts of first-degree arson and ordered her sent to Oregon State Hospital. Fait is now in the custody of the Psychiatric Security Review Board, and will remain so for up to 20 years. The Gothic-style church, located at Southwest 10th Avenue and Clay Street, was built in 1905 and is now owned by a Beaverton dentist. It was demolished shortly after the blaze.

WESTSIDE CANDIDATES TAP INTO PUBLIC FUNDS: Twenty-six of the more than 70 candidates vying for the 12 seats on the Portland City Council this November have qualified for at least $40,000 each in matching taxpayer funds through the city’s Small Donor Elections program, which matches small contributions by up to a 9-to-1 ratio. Nine of those candidates—a third of the qualifiers—are running in District 4, which covers all of the westside and a sliver of Southeast. Nine of the candidates are in District 2, which covers most of North and Northeast Portland. Four candidates apiece have qualified for matching funds in Districts 1 and 3, which cover East Portland and inner Southeast, respectively. Four of those candidates—Steph Routh in District 1, Tiffany Koyama Lane and Angelita Morillo in District 3, and Olivia Clark in District 4—have unlocked $80,000 each in matching funds. The last day candidates can qualify for taxpayer funds is Aug. 27.

GILLIAM SENTENCING DELAYED AGAIN: The sentencing of Earl “Joey” Gilliam was delayed Aug. 19—for the fifth time—but Judge Jeffrey S. Jones allowed two family members—Joey Gilliam’s half-sister, Olivia Gilliam, and his aunt, Felicia Gilliam Capps—to make victims’ statements. In March, Joey Gilliam pleaded guilty to four counts of first-degree aggravated theft and one count of first-degree criminal mistreatment. Aggravated theft carries a maximum sentence of 10 years; criminal mistreatment carries a sentence of up to five years. The crimes followed the unsolved 2020 poisonings of Gilliam’s father, Joe Gilliam, the longtime president of the Northwest Grocery Association (“Who Poisoned Joe Gilliam…Twice?” WW, Nov. 3, 2021). Joe Gilliam entered a vegetative state after the second poisoning and remains in a long-term care facility in Clark County, Wash., unable to speak or care for himself. While Joe Gilliam was incapacitated, his son stole a large sum—prosecutors say $381,000—from him. In court Aug. 19, Felicia Gilliam Capps spoke of the tragedy of seeing her brother Joe poisoned in the same year that her other two brothers, Vic and Steve, died—to find out later that her nephew stole Joe’s money while Joe lay in a vegetative state. She replaced her nephew as Joe Gilliam’s legal guardian. “The worst betrayal is what Joey has done to his father,” she told the court. “It is my wish Joey be punished to the fullest extent of the law.” Olivia Gilliam, Joey’s half-sister, said her half-brother is “dead” to her. “He took what was left of mine and my dad’s life and destroyed it, all in the name of having some fun with his friends,” she told the court. Sentencing is now set for Sept. 11.