Morrow County Deputy Arrested on Murder Charges

Anyone with any information should call the Morrow County Sheriff’s Office at 541-676-9061.

Steven Montie Crum is a Morrow County Reserve deputy

(SALEM, Ore.) - A Morrow County Sheriff’s reserve deputy wanted for murder was arrested this morning without incident during a traffic stop in Harney County.

Steven Montie Crum (DOB: 06-12-1981) was arrested for the murder of Jessica Rae Killian, whose body was discovered on Oct. 4 on a farm near Ione. The investigation is ongoing.

The Oregon Department of Justice is prosecuting the case at the request of Morrow County District Attorney Justin W. Nelson in order to ensure the integrity of the process because of the defendant’s involvement in law enforcement.

The case is being investigated by the Oregon State Police with assistance from the Umatilla/Morrow County Major Crime Team. Anyone with any information should call the Morrow County Sheriff’s Office at 541-676-9061.

The Oregon Attorney General's Office news release stated, "Every criminal defendant is considered innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law."

We asked AG spokesman Tony Green if this was common practice, or a statement used in situations involving Oregon police officers.

Green replied, "My marching orders are to put that in every case where the criminal defendant has not been convicted. I've been doing that for about a year, I believe." He also encouraged our staff to examine previous news releases at http://www.doj.state.or.us/releases/index.shtml and a cursory examination of news releases in the last year confirms Green's statement that news releases have included the statement regardless of who the defendant was.