Document text
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 4, 2004 Murder suspect spoke of altercation By JACK MORAN Mail Tribune Dave Jurich told his son to turn himself in to police after an altercation that apparently ended in the bludgeoning death of a 68-year-old transient inside an Ashland motel room. "He said, ‘Dad, something happened,’ " recalled Dave Jurich, of San Pedro, Calif. "He said he was attacked by somebody and he hurt him ... I didn’t know to what degree. "I told him he needed to go back and tell (police) what happened." But his son, 24-year-old David Michael Jurich, instead fled to Reno, Nev., where police caught up with him Tuesday and arrested him for murder. He awaits extradition to Jackson County. Reno police tracked Jurich down after receiving information about his possible whereabouts from Jackson County investigators, said Ashland police Deputy Chief Rich Walsh. Advertisement Jurich is suspected of killing David Evan Rice inside a room at the Relax Inn, 535 Clover Lane, in the city’s first murder case in eight years. An autopsy completed Tuesday confirmed investigators’ suspicion that Rice’s death was a result of blunt force trauma, Walsh said. He declined to release further autopsy findings. Police said Jurich is a transient, as was Rice. Walsh would not discuss any relationship between the two men. Jurich’s father said his son told him during a telephone conversation Friday that he and Rice were "in a program" together. Rice and the younger Jurich both have criminal backgrounds. Ashland police issued a warrant for Jurich’s arrest on Saturday. Walsh would not say whether a weapon was used, or discuss any potential motive for the killing. Detectives went to Dave Jurich’s San Pedro home last weekend to question him about the Ashland homicide. "I told them that I don’t have any answers," he said. "Somehow, (Jurich and Rice) crossed each other’s path. How they got in a room together, I don’t know that." The younger Jurich, who police said had been panhandling and frequenting transient camps in Southern Oregon for the past six months, was arrested recently on a charge of unauthorized use of a vehicle. He was released from prison in 2001 following convictions on charges of first-degree burglary and drug offenses. Parole officials said he is on abscond status from Jackson County’s Community Justice program, and a warrant was issued Oct. 21 for his arrest. Rice was classified by parole officials as a predatory sex offender and was on supervised parole at the time of his death. He was previously convicted of first-degree sodomy and first-degree sexual abuse. Dave Jurich said his son told him he had been staying at an Ashland motel recently. Walsh said it did not appear David Jurich was a registered guest of the Relax Inn. The elder Jurich said that while his son has had an alcohol problem in the past, he is a "mellow, good-hearted" person. "He doesn’t go looking for trouble," he said. "Something must have happened that set him off." 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