Town note
It is a historically Swedish town, settled by Swedish loggers when logging began in the area.
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FILE 454 / 30 December 2023 / 71 MIN / express
This is Culton, Oregon, COLTON, Culton, Oregon... northwestern Oregon, about 50 minutes outside of Portland. about 0:03:46
It is a historically Swedish town, settled by Swedish loggers when logging began in the area.
about 0:05:09There are about half a dozen churches in town and zero taverns or bars.
about 0:05:34The nearest tavern is four miles outside town.
about 0:05:45There is only one grocery store and it is not in Colton; it is in the next town about ten miles away.
about 0:05:52It is a historically Swedish town, settled by Swedish loggers when logging began in the area.
about 0:05:09There are about half a dozen churches in town and zero taverns or bars.
about 0:05:34The nearest tavern is four miles outside town.
about 0:05:45There is only one grocery store and it is not in Colton; it is in the next town about ten miles away.
about 0:05:52The old family rural farms have largely become big Christmas tree farms, and Christmas trees are now a big local crop.
about 0:06:03Only downtown Colton has public water; the rest of the town relies on wells, which are known for clean, cold water.
about 0:06:15Goat Mountain is a local butte about four thousand feet high.
about 0:06:42People released from Psychiatric Security Review Board supervision who commit another crime
35%
"3,392"
No direction stated.
As told in 2023 about 0:04:40
"about 50 minutes"
No direction stated.
As told in 2023 about 0:03:51
"$86,250"
Comparison: "a little higher than the national average". Direction: above.
As told in 2023 about 0:04:47
"$602,100"
No direction stated.
As told in 2023 about 0:04:52
"about six"
Comparison: "about half a dozen". Direction: below.
As told in 2023 about 0:05:34
"zero"
No direction stated.
As told in 2023 about 0:05:41
"one"
Comparison: "four miles outside of town". No direction stated.
As told in 2023 about 0:05:45
"one"
Comparison: "in the next town about ten miles away". No direction stated.
As told in 2023 about 0:05:52
"four thousand feet"
No direction stated.
As told in 2023 about 0:06:45
"35%"
Comparison: "within three years". No direction stated.
As told in 2023 about 1:05:40
3.7 / 5 · average of 3
“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
“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
“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
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.
Mother's Day, about May 15th, 2017 / the Webb home in Colton, Oregon, and the Harvest Market Thriftway in Estacada, Oregon
As told in the episode, on 30 December 2023.
Accused
Public places are marked on the map.
crime scene
about 0:31:58home
about 0:30:06business
about 0:13:34police
about 0:25:26hospital
about 1:05:46landmark
about 0:06:45landmark
about 0:10:32