News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
A grand jury handed up a murder indictment on 17-year-old Steven Withrow on Thursday, April 22. The 17-year-old Sisters High School student was indicted for murder, first degree manslaughter, assault and first degree robbery in connection with the killing of 42-year-old Curtis Dean Kizer in Drake Park a week earlier.
According to prosecutor Candy Geis, the "felony murder" charge is leveled when a death results from another felony crime -- in this case the alleged first degree robbery. The charge carries the possibility of a life sentence.
The indictment alleges that Withrow hit, kicked, stomped and jumped on Kizer. Geis declined to discuss details of the pending case.
The killing and the arrest of Withrow sent shock waves through Sisters High School and the greater Sisters community.
Two other Sisters boys who were present during the killing are back in school. Many in the community have asked why they have not faced penalties either from the District Attorney's office or the school district. (The Nugget will not name the boys unless charges are filed against them).
"Their conduct remains under investigation and so far there is no evidence that they were actively involved in the crime," prosecutor Geis told The Nugget.
The details of that night's events remain somewhat murky, but people with knowledge of the incident say that at least one of the boys was not in close proximity when the alleged assault occurred.
High school principal Bob Macauley said he is aware that Sisters students -- including the boys in the park -- may have been drinking in Bend that night.
"I don't know who and what, but that's my understanding," he said.
Macauley and other school officials are constrained from interviewing the students and delving further into the situation at this time because the criminal investigation is still ongoing.
In any case, the Sisters School District has little recourse to take action against the boys.
"It's off campus and out of our jurisdiction," Macauley said. "It's actually illegal for us to do anything."
The killing disturbed students and staff at the high school, Macauley said.
"What happened was bizarre and ruthless," said the principal. "It has touched this school."
What is deeply disturbing to Macauley and many others is that the two students who witnessed the attack and others who had knowledge of it did not contact police or call 911.
"That bothers me a lot," Macauley said.
The principal noted that once the news broke that the man attacked in the park had died some students did come to the school office with word that Withrow might have been involved. By that time, Bend Police detectives were already on their way to the school to question Withrow.
The killing has had reverberations among students.
"The kids who were close to the incident are struggling to come to grips with it," Macauley said.
For Macauley and his staff, the incident and the failure of students to act signals a need for a change in culture at the high school.
He said that students at Sisters High School are noted for being accepting of others -- a quality that is seen as a virtue. However, Macauley fears that students have lost the ability to recognize that there is a difference between accepting people for who they are and accepting any kind of behavior.
"They're not discerning between good behavior and bad behavior," the principal said. "A kid can be a knucklehead and none of their friends will tell him that he's out of line, that his behavior's inappropriate."
A culture has developed that "friends don't rat each other out," Macauley said.
That needs to be changed to encourage students to come forward when their friends are engaged in risky behavior. And Macauley wants to see students take on responsibility for taking care of their own.
"We need to have (peers) say, 'Pick up your litter; don't cheat,'" he said.
Issues of character and citizenship have been raised before -- often in the wake of tragedies like the Columbine and Springfield school shootings. But the sense of urgency recedes and teachers don't always work on these lessons with each class of students they see coming through the school.
Macauley said the school staff has already acknowledged the need to recycle their presentations on ethics and character. The Withrow incident will likely serve as a springboard for that kind of lesson.
Such lessons should fall on fertile ground. Macauley said the school does have a concerned and caring student body and the students trust the adults at the school.
Meanwhile, school staff is prepared to help students cope with the fallout from the killing and Withrow's arrest.
The two boys who were present have been integrated back into class.
"I can say that's been addressed with parents and staff," Macauley said.
Students for whom the incident may trigger traumatic reactions are being monitored and counseling is available.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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