Warrants sought against Longo
Hunt continues for former Ypsilanti resident in connection to family's slaying.
Saturday, December 29, 2001
By TRACY DAVIS and CHONG W. PYEN
NEWS STAFF REPORTERS
Oregon authorities issued warrants Friday against former Ypsilanti resident Christian Longo on four counts of murder in connection with the deaths of his wife and three children.
Lincoln County District Attorney Bernice Barnett announced Friday that autopsy results led to the conclusion that Mary Jane Longo, 35, and her 2-year-old daughter Madison Longo were victims of "homicidal violence." Their bodies were found in an ocean bay Thursday.
The couple's two other children, Zachary and Sadie, 5 and 3, were found dead in a nearby inlet last week. The Oregon Medical Examiner's Office had already ruled their deaths as homicides.
Still missing in the increasingly deadly puzzle is husband and father Christian Longo, 27.
Until Friday, he had been sought by authorities only as a witness. He was last seen in the San Francisco area Dec. 26, Barnett said.
The Longos moved to the coastal city of Newport from Ypsilanti about three months ago, police said.
Because Longo is believed to have crossed state lines, the Federal Bureau of Investigation also has obtained a federal fugitive warrant. An FBI statement said Longo should be considered an escape risk and armed and dangerous.
The Longos were associated with an Ypsilanti-based group of Jehovah's Witnesses while they lived in town with their three children, said congregant Howard Seitz.
But Christian Longo was "put out" about a year ago, Seitz said.
"Anyone that doesn't do what the scriptures tell us can be put out," Seitz said, adding that Longo was asked to leave the organization because of mounting legal troubles.
Longo, for whom a national law enforcement alert has now been issued, was wanted in Washtenaw County for a larceny and a probation violation. He was also more than $60,000 in debt, half of which is due to Wexford Homes in restitution for checks he allegedly forged, according to records and Wexford owners.
Longo incorporated a construction cleanup business in February 2000 with partner Joel E. Foster after he had worked for a fireplace and spa installation business. He did good work, said Bill Collins, co-owner of Wexford.
"I had him personally put a fireplace in my house," Collins said.
Longo's business, Final Touch Construction Cleaning Inc., seemed to grow fast. Longo began to talk of contracts in other towns and states, Collins said. But then Wexford's accounting department noticed different colored checks with forged signatures made out to the company.
In about four weeks, some $30,000 worth of checks for services never rendered showed up on the books. Then, said Collins, Longo stopped showing up.
Longo was eventually ordered to pay restitution, but Collins said they haven't received it.
Five creditors also have filed civil suits against Longo. And two small-claims suits against Final Touch were filed; one was disposed of in March, the other in July 2000.
Longo and his family lived on Eileen Street in Ypsilanti's West Willow neighborhood until last spring, when they moved to Toledo and then Oregon. Why the family moved to Oregon remains unclear.
The family's van, reported stolen in Ohio almost two years ago, was abandoned at an Oregon car dealership Dec. 19. A green Dodge Durango was stolen from the dealership that same day. Police said that is also the day they believe Zachary and Sadie were killed.
The deaths have jolted people in the small cities where the bodies were found. Neighbors said Christian Longo lived alone in a condominium near the Embarcadero Resort in Newport, though they said he was visited by his children and wife.
"It's just such a tragic, tragic thing," said a former neighbor and Ypsilanti resident. "Those innocent little babies. We would get a charge out of watching them play."