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48 °F Forecast | Road Cams Thursday, January 27, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Opportunities Moving to Southern Oregon? MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend November 6, 2004 Cops say Jurich confesses By JACK MORAN Mail Tribune Police say a man suspected of murdering a 68-year-old transient inside an Ashland motel room confessed to the killing following his arrest outside a Reno, Nev., liquor store. David Michael Jurich, 24, waived extradition and returned Friday to Jackson County on an airplane with a pair of local detectives, Reno police Sgt. Doug Evans said. Jurich was later lodged in the Jackson County Jail on one count of murder. He is being held without bail. Jurich is suspected of killing David Evan Rice last week inside Room 8 of the Relax Inn in Ashland. Police say Rice was bludgeoned, and an autopsy confirmed he was killed as a result of blunt force trauma. Investigators have declined to say whether a weapon was used. Evans said Jackson County sheriff’s Detective Colin Fagan and Medford police Detective Bill Ford arrived Wednesday in Reno and questioned Jurich about the killing. "He talked to detectives and made some definite admissions and confessions," Evans said. Advertisement Jurich fled Oregon following the homicide and traveled to San Francisco, where he boarded a bus headed to Reno, Evans said. After receiving information from Jackson County authorities that Jurich might be in Reno, police there circulated fliers with the suspect’s photograph throughout the downtown area. Jurich was arrested Tuesday outside a downtown liquor store after an employee phoned police to say the wanted man was there, Evans said. Police say Jurich is a transient, as was Rice. Jurich’s father, Dave Jurich of San Pedro, Calif., said his son told him during a telephone conversation last week that he and Rice were "in a program" together. Jurich’s mother, Michelle Ronnie of Lakeview, Calif., said she disagrees with her son being characterized as a transient. "They’re making him sound like a bum, but he has friends all around there," Ronnie said. "He could have come home at any time." The younger Jurich and Rice both have criminal backgrounds. Rice, classified by parole officials as a predatory sex offender, was on supervised parole at the time of his death. Jurich’s parents say they don’t know what led up to the killing, but believe Rice must have initiated the motel room confrontation. Police have not discussed any potential motive for the killing. In telephone conversations with his parents, Jurich allegedly said he got into a fight with Rice, but did not know the altercation had led to the older man’s death. "He didn’t know the guy was dead," Ronnie said. "He said, ‘I might have (killed Rice), but I don’t know’." Ronnie said her son told her he had been drinking before the confrontation. Police say Jurich has been panhandling and frequenting transient camps in Southern Oregon for the past six months. Ronnie said he had been staying at a "hippie commune" and spending some of his days in a parole-supervised work program. Jurich was released from prison in 2001 following convictions for burglary and drug offenses. Parole officials said a warrant was issued Oct. 21 for Jurich’s arrest after he absconded from Jackson County’s Community Justice program. Reach reporter Jack Moran at 776-4459, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Student Loan Consolidation Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers