MALHEUR COUNTY, Ore. — A man has been charged with murder following an "incident" at a homeless encampment near I-84 in Ontario, Oregon. According to the District Attorney for Malheur County, Dave Goldthorpe, John Yeager died on Sunday, Oct. 20 and Ian Thaddeous Inger was arrested and charged with second degree murder.
Yesterday, around 1:30 p.m. at the encampment, there were multiple state and local police at the scene. The district attorney told KTVB Inger is being held at the Malheur County Jail. He was arraigned at 2:00 p.m. MST.
Inger was just out of prison following a seven-and-half-year sentence for an ax attack in 2015. In that incident, Inger had been in an argument with his girlfriend, 42-year-old Nora Horn. Police said Inger had struck Horn with an ax and an aluminum baseball bat, shattering her jaw and fracturing her skull. Police say Inger also attacked Horn's daughter, 24-year-old Leann Beeson.
Inger also has a son, Ian Daniel Inger, and there had been some confusion as to which Inger was arrested because Daniel was previously charged with attempted murder for shooting his friend in the face and was also arrested in June 2015 for nearly killing a 28-year-old by stabbing him repeatedly in the throat and torso. According to the Argus Observer, Inger was sentenced to 15 months in prison for that attack.
Goldthorpe confirmed Inger's identity to KTVB on the afternoon of Oct. 21 and his bond is set at $750,000
KTVB will update this story as more information becomes available.