A Clark County judge Friday ordered a Eugene, Ore., man be held without bail in the alleged murder-for-hire shooting of a Hockinson woman in March.
Darrell E. Riley, 55, appeared on a warrant in Superior Court for aggravated first-degree murder and first-degree burglary in the slaying of 60-year-old Lindy Rummell. He is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday.
He appeared virtually from the Clark County Jail and was seated in a wheelchair. Riley’s defense attorney, Angela Avery, told the judge he’s sick and suffering from congestive heart failure.
Deputy Prosecutor Chris Glinski read for the judge Riley’s lengthy criminal history dating back to the 1980s, which includes prior assault convictions.
Lindy Rummell’s husband, James Rummell, is accused of hiring Riley, his former prison cellmate, to kill her for $35,000 and a motorcycle.
Riley is accused of shooting Lindy Rummell on March 23 in her home in the 18000 block of Northeast 119th Street. James Rummell, 49, and two friends found his wife dead after arriving at the house, the Clark County Sheriff’s Office said.
Although a pickup was reported stolen from the house, investigators said there were no signs anyone had forced their way inside.
The next day, deputies received a tip from a Eugene man who said he picked up his friend, Riley, from a city northeast of Eugene. He said Riley transferred a bunch of items, including two guns, from a pickup Riley was driving into his vehicle. Riley then set the truck on fire, according to court records.
Investigators believe James Rummell picked up Riley from Eugene earlier in the day and brought him to Hockinson, the sheriff’s office said.
The tipster said Riley told him he’d been hired to kill a woman. Riley allegedly described the number of times he shot her and caliber of ammunition he used, which appeared to be the same caliber recovered at the Hockinson house. Riley also allegedly told him he staged it to look like a robbery, and the items he put in the tipster’s vehicle were taken from the house, court records state.
The tipster also said he learned James Rummell was going to pay Riley from Lindy Rummell’s life insurance payout, according to court records.
James Rummell has denied involvement in his wife’s death. He is being held in the Clark County Jail without bail on charges of aggravated first-degree domestic violence murder and solicitation to commit murder. His trial is scheduled for Dec. 2, court records show.
