Oregon Woman's July 2024 Death Was Initially Believed to Be Suicide. Why Is Her Boyfriend Now Charged with Murder?

An Oregon man is accused of murdering his girlfriend, whose July 2024 death was initially believed to be a suicide.

On Tuesday, Jan.15, police in Sweet Home arrested Jerod L. Norman, 40, of Sweet Home, and charged him with murder and abuse of a corpse in connection to the death of his girlfriend, Mariah King, 30, the department said in a release.

The arrest came after a months-long investigation into King’s July 24, 2024, death at the home where she lived with Norman in Sweet Home.

“The death initially appeared to be a suicide, but SHPD investigators arranged for a postmortem examination and a foreign object was discovered inside the victim’s body,” Sweet Home Police said in the release.

Investigators are trying to contact Norman’s father, David L. Norman, 65, for a follow-up interview, police said in the release.

The suspect is being held without bail in the Linn County Jail, online records show.

He was arraigned on Tuesday, Jan. 14. He is scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 21.

It is unclear whether he has retained an attorney who can speak on his behalf.

In a GoFundMe set up to help King’s young children, her sister, Micaela King wrote, “Mariah my beautiful sister left us on 7/18, she had 2 children.”

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The sister added that King “had the biggest heart and she loved so much, she was so beautiful and we are so sad that she left us. 

“I want us all to remember her like the rockstar she was.”

If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.