PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – The cremated remains of a Bend college student, who was murdered by a campus security guard in 2016, were reportedly stolen and thrown out, authorities said.
Kaylee Sawyer’s ashes were among the items stolen from a storage unit, according to the Deschutes County District Attorney’s Office. Authorities said two suspects have been arrested for the theft.
Officials said the thieves dumped the ashes into the garbage behind a Motel 6.
One of the suspects was sentenced to 40 months in prison this week.
In July 2016, 23-year-old Sawyer was walking near the Central Oregon Community College Campus when campus security guard Edwin Lara picked her up. After putting Sawyer in the back of a campus security vehicle, Lara assaulted and murdered her.
Lara pleaded guilty to aggravated murder and will spend the rest of his life in prison.
The Oregon state legislature passed Kaylee’s Law in 2019. That mandates campus security officers and their equipment do not resemble police uniforms and bans then from acting as law enforcement.