On November 17, 2023, a Washington County jury found Shaun Edwin Maki guilty of Murder, three counts of Assault in the First Degree, Assault in the Second Degree, Unlawful Use of a Weapon, and two counts of Criminal Mistreatment in the First Degree. Chief Deputy District Attorney Jeff Lesowski and Deputy District Attorney Bryce Bissinger prosecuted the case against the defendant before Judge Oscar Garcia.
The defendant, age 53 at the time of the attack, lived with the victim, his father, age 77 at the time, at a home on NW 185th Ave. in rural Washington County near Bethany. The victim was in poor health, was thin and frail, and was suffering from the onset of dementia. On March 1, 2018, the defendant became angry with his father and violently attacked him with a wooden shovel handle. The assault left the victim with a brain bleed, multiple broken bones, and lying in a pool of his own blood.
The next day, the defendant took the time to clean the shovel and to drive to multiple stores to purchase his preferred type of beer. When he finally called 9-1-1, he told operators that his father had hit himself with a stick. First responders were horrified by what they found when they were dispatched to the home on March 2, 2018. They rushed the victim to the hospital where he spent the next two days in a coma. He died in June of 2018 as a result of his injuries.
The defendant later told investigators that he and his father were the only people in the home at the time of the attack and that he waited so long to call for help because he was worried about the cost of an ambulance.
The Washington County District Attorney’s Office wishes to acknowledge the work of Detective Brad Verboort and the Washington County Sheriff’s Office on this case, as well as the firefighters and paramedics of Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue.
A sentencing hearing is scheduled for December 19, 2023, at 9:00 a.m. The defendant will remain in custody until sentencing.
