Autopsy shows Oregon barista was shot to death

OREGON CITY, Ore. (AP) - A medical examiner says a 21-year-old Oregon barista who was killed last week died from multiple gunshot wounds.

Dr. Christopher Young on Monday declined to release additional results from the autopsy performed over the weekend.

Whitney Heichel vanished on her way to work Tuesday, triggering a search effort that ended late Friday with the discovery of her body on Larch Mountain east of Gresham.

Heichel's neighbor, Jonathan Holt, has been charged with aggravated murder and is to be arraigned Monday afternoon in Oregon City.

A spokesman for the Heichel family, Jim Vaughn, released a statement Monday saying Holt was a member of the same Jehovah's Witnesses congregation as Heichel. Vaughn said he attended sporadically.

Police have still not offered details about Holt's alleged involvement in Heichel's murder.

About three hours after Heichel failed to show up for work, her husband, Clint, called police. He told investigators he tried to reach Whitney multiple times after her boss alerted him that she never arrived for her 7 a.m. shift.

Police said Heichel's ATM card was used at a nearby gas station at 9:14 a.m. Tuesday. Two hours later, family and friends discovered her sport utility vehicle in a Wal-Mart parking lot with the passenger side window smashed.

Some of her items were found in a trash bin nearby, and a child later found her cellphone in a field that lies between the gas station and the Wal-Mart.

Police began searching Larch Mountain on Wednesday, believing that Heichel's SUV was driven there, and discovered her body Friday night.

Holt first came to their attention Wednesday, when he volunteered to be interviewed, police Chief Craig Junginger said, and two later interviews revealed inconsistencies in his statements. He submitted to fingerprint and DNA analysis, and that helped tie him to the SUV, the chief said.