Imprisoned murderer Obremski dies at 60

Document text

A killer convicted of the double murders of two Medford women in 1969 died Thursday in a Salem hospital after spending nearly 35 years behind bars. Russell Obremski, 60, died of natural causes after being admitted to the hospital from the Oregon State Penitentiary, according to a story in the Statesman Journal in Salem. Obremski was one of Oregon's most notorious murderers. He was convicted in the shooting deaths of housewives Laverna May Lowe and Betty Ann Ritchie. He killed Lowe in her home, and kidnapped Ritchie from a pharmacy. He dumped her body in the Applegate area, officials said. He was the focus of media attention again in 1993 after he was released on parole. In 1994, he was charged with sexually abusing a young Eugene girl. He was later acquitted, officials said. The next year he was sent back to prison for life after admitting to his Parole Board that he drank a beer in celebration after proposing to his fiancee. He was to have no contact with alcohol under the conditions of his parole, officials said. Obremski would later contend that political pressures put upon the Parole Board influenced their decision to send him back to prison.