FILE 454 / 30 December 2023 / 71 MIN / express

Crazy Is As Crazy Does

Colton, OregonListen

The town

N ↑Public placePublic placeTown centre (approximate places)
Static locations; no street basemap. Places and details. OpenFreeMap © OpenMapTiles Data from OpenStreetMap.

This is Culton, Oregon, COLTON, Culton, Oregon... northwestern Oregon, about 50 minutes outside of Portland. about 0:03:46

History, in brief

Town note

It is a historically Swedish town, settled by Swedish loggers when logging began in the area.

about 0:05:09

Town note

There are about half a dozen churches in town and zero taverns or bars.

about 0:05:34

Town note

The nearest tavern is four miles outside town.

about 0:05:45

Town note

There is only one grocery store and it is not in Colton; it is in the next town about ten miles away.

about 0:05:52
All 7 history facts

Town note

It is a historically Swedish town, settled by Swedish loggers when logging began in the area.

about 0:05:09

Town note

There are about half a dozen churches in town and zero taverns or bars.

about 0:05:34

Town note

The nearest tavern is four miles outside town.

about 0:05:45

Town note

There is only one grocery store and it is not in Colton; it is in the next town about ten miles away.

about 0:05:52

Town note

The old family rural farms have largely become big Christmas tree farms, and Christmas trees are now a big local crop.

about 0:06:03

Town note

Only downtown Colton has public water; the rest of the town relies on wells, which are known for clean, cold water.

about 0:06:15

Town note

Goat Mountain is a local butte about four thousand feet high.

about 0:06:42

The figures, as told

Crime / national average

People released from Psychiatric Security Review Board supervision who commit another crime
35%

about 1:05:40

Money

Median home value$602,100
Median household income$86,250
All figures and comparisons, as told in 2023

Population

"3,392"

No direction stated.

As told in 2023 about 0:04:40

Drive time to Portland

"about 50 minutes"

No direction stated.

As told in 2023 about 0:03:51

Median household income

"$86,250"

Comparison: "a little higher than the national average". Direction: above.

As told in 2023 about 0:04:47

Median home price

"$602,100"

No direction stated.

As told in 2023 about 0:04:52

Churches in town

"about six"

Comparison: "about half a dozen". Direction: below.

As told in 2023 about 0:05:34

Taverns or bars in town

"zero"

No direction stated.

As told in 2023 about 0:05:41

Taverns outside town

"one"

Comparison: "four miles outside of town". No direction stated.

As told in 2023 about 0:05:45

Grocery stores in town

"one"

Comparison: "in the next town about ten miles away". No direction stated.

As told in 2023 about 0:05:52

Goat Mountain

"four thousand feet"

No direction stated.

As told in 2023 about 0:06:45

People released from Psychiatric Security Review Board supervision who commit another crime

"35%"

Comparison: "within three years". No direction stated.

As told in 2023 about 1:05:40

The reviews

3.7 / 5 · average of 3

5 stars

“Growing up in Estacada the reviewer could not wait to get out and felt trapped, but after moving back realised the vast evergreen prison was home; small talk is common, life is slower, neighbours wave and everyone goes to the summer celebration on Main Street in June.”
about 0:07:29

3 stars

“A quiet small town near a river and forest, but there is nothing to do except swim in the river; the schools are behind, commutes to jobs take 45 minutes to an hour and a half and jobs are hard to get.”
about 0:09:00

3 stars

“Crime does occur but does not interrupt daily life, most of it involving drugs rather than violence, and the police and fire departments respond promptly.”
about 0:09:55

In Oregon

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  3. New Year's EvilSkamania, Washington · 21 October 202158 km / 36 miShow on map
  4. The Trees Tell You To MurderDallas, Oregon · 31 January 201974 km / 46 miShow on map
  5. A Fantasy Of ViolenceTillamook, Oregon · 15 September 2022114 km / 71 miShow on map

The story

Colton, Oregon, is a rural town of 3,392 people about fifty minutes outside Portland, in the north-western part of the state. It began as a Swedish logging community and still has about half a dozen churches, no taverns and no grocery store of its own; the nearest is about ten miles away in Estacada. Tina Marie Webb, fifty-nine, and David Webb had been married for forty-one years and had lived at the same house in Colton for twenty years. They had four grown children. Tina had a horticulture degree and was known locally as a master gardener; she had recently designed and worked on a garden at a local church. His mother thought he was depressed; his father saw no sign of it. A girlfriend, Heather, had moved from the east coast to live with him, and in the month before the killing he created a Facebook profile, posted pictures of his dog Cooper and announced that he was in a relationship.

In March 2017 Heather noticed a change in him: his eyes did not look right and he kept rubbing the left side of his head. On 8 April he telephoned her to describe an odd squid pulsing sensation at the back of his head, as though a squid were sucking on it. He also said he believed she was secretly injecting him with an unknown substance, that a black box in the garage was recording him, and that the Fox television network owned him. Psychiatrists later said the seasonal increase in daylight, a possible bipolar episode, a brain tumour or drug use could have triggered a psychosis.

He took the head and a knife and went about ten miles to the Harvest Market Thriftway in Estacada, the town's only grocery store. At 2.14 p.m. he walked in covered in blood, holding the knife and the severed head. He put the knife down, drank a soda, picked the knife up again and went to the back of the store, where Michael Wagner, a sixty-four-year-old cashier who had worked there for twenty-one years, was stocking shelves. Wagner fought back, other employees jumped on the attacker, took the knife and bound his ankles and hands with duct tape. Wagner was airlifted to Portland, had surgery and survived.

She ran to a neighbour's house and called the police. He said only that he was thirsty, then became catatonic for about twenty-four hours. He then sat up, said he had a nice nap, and admitted killing his dog and his mother and stabbing the man in the store.

The case was delayed for about a year while he was treated with antipsychotics, and he continued to hear voices and speak to them. Two psychiatrists, one for the defence and one for the state, diagnosed schizophrenia and psychosis. Six years later, in 2023, he was still at the state hospital.

The case

Murder of Tina Webb

Victims

Tina Marie Webb (59). Webb's mother, a master gardener and horticulture graduate who had designed a garden at a local church
Michael Wagner (64). grocery store cashier and produce worker, stabbed seven times and survived

Accused and outcomes

As told in the episode, on 30 December 2023.

Accused

Outcome

Other people

David Webb. Tina's husband and father, married to Tina for forty-one years
Heather. girlfriend, who had moved from the east coast and was told to leave Oregon in April 2017
Curtis Strandy. best friend, who described him as the nicest, gentlest man he had met
Cooper. dog, killed before the murder
Pam Wagner. Michael Wagner's wife, who called him a tough cookie
Connie. 71-year-old regular shopper at the store
Heidi Lowry. woman who had shopped at the Harvest Market Thriftway for ten years

The timeline

  1. March 2017 Heather notices mood change, his eyes not looking right and him rubbing the left side of his headabout 0:41:09
  2. April 8th, 2017 calls Heather and describes an odd squid pulsing sensation in the back of his headabout 0:41:45
  3. April 2017 creates a Facebook profile, posts pictures of his dog Cooper and says he is in a relationshipabout 0:37:15
  4. April 2017 asks Heather to leave Oregon and move back eastabout 0:44:06
  5. Late April 2017 gives all his guns to the police, saying voices are leading him into trouble (Sandy Police Department)about 0:46:54
  6. The night before the murder David Webb speaks to his son, who seems in good spirits (Webb home)about 0:49:00
  7. May 15th, 2017 kills his dog Cooper by breaking his neck (Webb home)about 0:32:28
  8. May 15th, 2017 stabs his mother Tina and saws off her head in the living room (Webb home)about 0:32:36
  9. May 15th, 2017, 2.14 p.m. A 911 call reports a man covered in blood carrying a knife and a severed head into the grocery store (Harvest Market Thriftway)about 0:13:21
  10. May 15th, 2017 drinks a soda, goes to the back of the store and stabs Michael Wagner seven times (Harvest Market Thriftway)about 0:20:39
  11. May 15th, 2017 Employees pull off Wagner, take the knife and bind him with duct tape (Harvest Market Thriftway)about 0:22:33
  12. May 15th, 2017 Michael Wagner is airlifted to Portland for surgery and survivesabout 0:25:13
  13. May 15th, 2017 sister arrives with her children and finds her mother's headless body, then runs to a neighbour to call the police (Webb home)about 0:31:58

Places and phrases

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Static locations; no street basemap. Places and details. OpenFreeMap © OpenMapTiles Data from OpenStreetMap.

Places in the story

Public places are marked on the map.

Heard in this episode