One Drifter, Two Murders

Ovando, Montana, is a town of about 80 people in Powell County, in the western central part of the state, roughly 75 miles northwest of Helena. The area was buffalo hunting country fought over by native tribes. White settlers arrived in the 1870s; in 1883 Ovando Hoyt built the first post office and the town took his first name. It was once a bustling town, but the railroad never came, and in 1919 a fire burned most of it down. By 1990 the population was 54; it rose to 71 in 2000 and 80 now. The town is old: median age 56.5 against a national average of 37.4, and 80% married against an average of 50%. It is 92.5% white and 7.5% black, and 24% religious.

the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it He took a Greyhound bus, got off in Ovando in the last week of June and hiked into the mountains. After a few days camping he found the ranch of Ned and Selene Blackwood. Ned, 46, was from Cambridge, Massachusetts, a former Marine and Vietnam veteran who had gone to Stanford, worked as a stockbroker in San Francisco and moved to Ovando in 1982, buying 400 acres. Selene, 47, was from upstate New York.

this part of the story is covered for now One evening in early July he slipped into their open garage, found a rifle and spent the night there. details of the account remain covered until revealed the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it He moved them into the living room, tied Ned to a chair and hog-tied Selene on the couch. He talked with them for a few hours, took six more guns, then shot Ned in the back of the head. He shot Selene in the side of the head; when she did not die, he cut her throat. He took money and handguns in a blue athletic bag and stole the couple's pickup truck.

On 5 July, friends who had been stood up on Fourth of July plans called the sheriff. Sheriff Dave Collins drove to the ranch and found Ned shot in the back of the head and Selene face down on the couch with her throat cut and a gunshot wound to her head. Investigators could find no connection between the couple and anyone who might want them dead, and the town gossip turned to a contract killing. this part of the story is covered for now

On 7 July the pickup was found near a bus station in Great Falls, Montana. details of the account remain covered until revealed the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it On 27 July police found his blue athletic bag in woods near the motel. Inside were handguns traced to the Blackwoods, one of them the murder weapon, and his prints were on it and in the truck.

this part of the story is covered for now details of the account remain covered until revealed the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it His lawyer CF McKay had him sent to the Montana State Hospital at Warm Springs for 54 days of psychiatric evaluation; he was found sane.

this part of the story is covered for now details of the account remain covered until revealed the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it He asked to be hanged, and the judge agreed. He also received 100 years on the other counts.

this part of the story is covered for now details of the account remain covered until revealed The state Supreme Court affirmed in June 1991.

the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it Prisoners took over the maximum security building and killed five inmates in protective custody. this part of the story is covered for now

details of the account remain covered until revealed the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it A stay was sought in December 1997 because his testimony was wanted in the inmates' lawsuits over the riot, but it was denied in January 1998. this part of the story is covered for now On 23 February he had fried chicken, mashed potatoes with gravy and a banana split, and refused a drink. details of the account remain covered until revealed