Man in custody for Sisters murder

A 78-year-old Sisters woman is dead and a 30-year-old Pendleton man is in custody after a violent incident on Kent Road east of Sisters Saturday night.

According to the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office, the man from Pendleton contacted dispatch from a location in Madras, Saturday night to report that he had killed a woman near Sisters.

Madras police contacted Joshua Leo Jokinen and arrested him on a probation violation out of Umatilla County. As this was happening, Deschutes County Sheriff's Deputies responded to a report of a deceased woman at a residence on Kent Road (off Cloverdale Road) east of Sisters. An investigation led to the arrest of Jokinen for the Sisters-area murder.

Jokinen was transported and lodged in the Deschutes County Jail. The 78-year-old victim has been identified as Carolyn Grace Burdick.

Pastor Frank Fraga of New Hope Christian Center discovered Burdick's body Saturday night. He had been asked to check on Burdick by a friend who talked to her each evening and had not been able to reach her.

Fraga said Burdick was "a great woman who would not hurt a fly." Burdick was church treasurer and a member of the board of directors.

Fraga told The Nugget that Burdick knew Jokinen and that the connection was through a woman Burdick was trying to help.

Helping people and animals was part of Burdick's nature, Fraga said.

"She would do anything to help people, whether it was prudent for her to do so or not," he said.

Neighbors were shocked and unsettled by the crime.

"We're just shocked that something like this could happen here - or anywhere," said Doug Cavanaugh, who lives at the end of Kent Road.

Online records indicate that Jokinen has an extensive arrest record including arrests for theft, violation of restraining order and a March 2013 arrest in Umatilla County for parole violation. The Madras Pioneer reported in 2006 that he was sentenced to six years in prison for assaulting a man with a trailer hitch ball, striking him hard enough to fracture his skull.

A woman identifying herself as Shawna Dicintio who contacted The Nugget said the man had a history of domestic violence.

"My sister has a 10 yr. old child from him and has feared for her family since his release because of his violent tendencies, as they know first hand of beatings and emotional abuse they endured before he went to prison last time," Dicintio wrote.