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US couple charged with the gruesome murder of Kenyan student


Four months after the gruesome murder of a 21-year-old Kenyan student in a parking lot of a property o the University of Oregon, a couple has been charged with the offence.

Alex Oyombe Gradin, was shot in the early morning hours of May 4, 2019 and pronounced dead at the scene.

Alex, who was born in Kenya and adopted into the Gradin family as a baby, was a student as Lane Community College and had just left Taylor’s Bar and Grill when he was shot.

The two suspects, Regis Derey Kindred, 30, and Kailee Von Foster, 29, a married couple of Portland, were arrested last week and on Tuesday were arraigned in court on murder charges.

Police say the motive of the shooting was intentional and gang-related but emphasized that Gradin had no affiliation with or connection to any gang activity.

Gradin did not know the suspects or have contact with the suspects before the shooting and he was not specifically targeted, police said.

“He did absolutely nothing wrong,” EPD Detective Jed McGuire said at a Friday press conference announcing the arrests.

Kenyan-born Alex Oyombe Gradin who was shot dead in the US on May 4, 2019. PHOTOS | COURTESY
Kenyan-born Alex Oyombe Gradin who was shot dead in the US on May 4, 2019. PHOTOS | COURTESY

MOTIVE OF SHOOTING 

He declined to go into further detail about the motivation behind the shooting.

According to Daily Emerald, EPD had released few updates in the case during the four months of investigation.

“It’s frustrating,” EPD Police Chief Chris Skinner said on the inability to share details with the public. He said people have a tendency to fill in their own narrative on the case.

Despite the lack of information, Skinner said multiple investigators spent hundreds of hours on the case.

McGuire said EPD received assistance from multiple agencies, including the FBI, Lane County Sheriff’s Department and the Tigard Police.

Both Regis and Kailee have numerous prior criminal convictions.