PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — In May 2002, Barbara Waldron went to her house in Northwest Portland to talk with her husband, David, about the finances of their separation.
Then she disappeared.
After exhaustive searches, investigators found evidence linking David Waldron to the crime, including scratches on his body, her purse found in his house, blood stains in the bedroom, inconsistent statements, and his refusal to cooperate with investigators. But, after 3 years of looking and not finding Barbara’s body, her children and brother agreed to allow David to plead no contest to 2nd-degree manslaughter.
“Given the lack of a body and key physical evidence,” Deputy DA Don Reese said in 2005, “there was a distinct possibility we would not have achieved this level of justice had the case gone to trial.”
Barbara’s brother, David Lewis, said at that same time, “I think all things considered, it was an appropriate resolution. It gives some closure for the children, which I think is very important.”
David Waldron has been out of prison since 2010.
But Barbara’s body has still not been found. Her best friend, Liz Marcum, is frustrated and thinking about what would happen if she came face-to-face with David.
“Knowing me, I’d probably say, ‘You got away with it,'” Marcum told KOIN 6 News. “He has a life now.”
She has both good and bad memories of Barbara.
“I would consider we were best friends. We felt like we were long-lost sisters when we met,” she said.
But she said Barbara didn’t want to stay alone with David “before she left him for several weeks. She would have me come up there and spend the nights sometimes, and I would. And the last time I spent the night, I slept in the basement and I heard these things upstairs and they were scary to me. But I didn’t want to interrupt. Like, somebody throwing things and noise, all night long.”
Where is David Waldron?
David Waldron’s driver’s license lists an address in Southeast Portland. It’s his sister’s house, and she hasn’t responded to any inquiries KOIN 6 News made about where her brother is.
He was involved in a real estate deal, and those people said they believe he’s living near his 40-year- old daughter in the Seattle area. Documents show she has power of attorney over David. KOIN 6 News was told by people involved in the real estate transaction that his health is failing.
A realtor who spoke with KOIN 6 News — who said she’s a close friend of the David and Barbara’s daughter — contacted her and her brother about talking about the case.
But the realtor said none of the kids want to talk about it publicly. Neither returned Facebook messages from KOIN 6 News.
The mystery continues, as does Liz Marcum’s frustration.
Barbara, she said, was “the type of person that would also want you to know what happened. She would be very interested in justice. She certainly wasn’t ready for her life to end. She was just getting started. That’s how she saw her life.”
If Barbara Waldron’s body is ever found, prosecutors could not charge David Waldron with murder because of his plea deal and because of double jeopardy — putting someone on trial for an offense for which they’ve already been on trial.
