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JOSEPHINE COUNTY 'Second look' sets convicted teen murderer free Trevor Walraven was 14 when he helped kill lodge owner Comment By Melissa McRobbie Grants Pass Daily Courier MailTribune.com By Melissa McRobbie Grants Pass Daily Courier Posted Feb. 4, 2016 at 4:06 PM Updated Feb 4, 2016 at 4:34 PM By Melissa McRobbie Grants Pass Daily Courier Posted Feb. 4, 2016 at 4:06 PM Updated Feb 4, 2016 at 4:34 PM » Social News Trevor Walraven, the man who committed one of the most notorious murders in Josephine County history when he was just 14 years old, is a free man. Walraven, now 31, was released Wednesday from the Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem. "There was not a lot of fanfare, but certainly an emotional thing when somebody walks out of custody after spending more than half their life in custody," his appeals attorney Andy Simrin said. On a hot summer day in 1998, Walraven and his brother, 18-year-old Josh Cain, carjacked Black Bar Lodge owner Bill Hull in Wolf Creek, then shot him execution-style, leaving his body on a remote logging road near the Grave Creek Bridge. The two teens then drove around in Hull's Chevrolet Suburban, taking two girls on a date in the stolen SUV. The crime sent shock waves through the county, and Walraven was sentenced in 2000 to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 30 years. In September 2014, Walraven was granted a "second look" hearing — Oregon law allows certain juvenile offenders to be considered for early release once they've served half their sentence. After listening to testimony from a number of character witnesses who described Walraven's progress in prison, a judge found that he had been rehabilitated and ordered his release. The state appealed, arguing that Walraven shouldn't have been eligible for a "second look" hearing in the first place — an argument based on a state statute pertaining to minimum sentences for juveniles convicted as adults of aggravated murder. The appeal is still pending. Meanwhile, the state has fought vigorously to keep Walraven behind bars during the appeals process. After a series of back-and-forth legal maneuvers by the state and the defense that lasted more than a year, the state's bid to keep Walraven locked up was unsuccessful, and he was set free. He'll reside in Marion County, where he'll be supervised by the local corrections office. "He was released to community corrections officers, who took him to their office for processing and fitting with an ankle GPS device, and then they released him," Simrin said. Walraven already has a job lined up in retail, his attorney said. "He's lived in prison most of his life now. He's worked very hard to rehabilitate himself, but that doesn't mean the transition to everyday life is not going to have its challenges … I mean, it's a whole different world," Simrin said. As an example, Simrin pointed to the leaps and bounds in technology since 1998. Walraven has used the Internet some; while incarcerated at the Oregon State Penitentiary, he worked at the prison laundry and was in charge of ordering supplies. "He understands what email is," Simrin said. Wednesday was a big day for Simrin, too — Walraven is his longest client. "I've been working on the case for 15 years," he said. Walraven's brother, Cain, now 36, is still serving a 25-year sentence. His earliest release date is August 2023. Prosecutors said during Walraven's trial that Walraven began drinking and using methamphetamine at an early age. The brothers were home-schooled and sometimes were left on their own at their remote home west of Wolf Creek for days at a time while their parents traveled to antiques shows. Hull, 65, of Sunny Valley, was from a family with deep roots in Josephine County. His father, Virgil Hull, founded Hull & Hull Funeral Directors with a cousin in 1928 and was later elected county coroner — a post he held for 20 years. Bill Hull, the eldest of four brothers, worked in the funeral business but left it in 1959 to pursue his passion for the outdoors. He and his wife, Sally, bought the Black Bar Lodge, a seasonal retreat tucked away along the wild section of the Rogue River below Grave Creek. Hull's youngest brother Thomas is now a Josephine County Circuit Court judge. Because of that and other conflicts of interest on the Josephine County bench — Walraven's trial attorney is now a local judge, as is the prosecutor in the case — a visiting judge from Jackson County, Timothy Gerking, was brought in for Walraven's "second look" hearing. There's no timeline for when the appeals court will rule on the state's argument that Walraven was ineligible for a "second look" hearing. Simrin said he expects it will take at least another few months. By Melissa McRobbie Grants Pass Daily Courier MailTribune.com By Melissa McRobbie Grants Pass Daily Courier Posted Feb. 4, 2016 at 4:06 PM Updated Feb 4, 2016 at 4:34 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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