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Background

In 1993, 19-year-old Christian Michael Longo married 26-year-old Mary Jane Baker. The couple later had three kids: Zahary, Sadie, and Madison.

By 2001, they had moved to Portland, Oregon. Michael worked at a local Starbucks, and his wife stayed home with the children. The couple was active Jehovah’s Witnesses, and to many, they seemed perfect.

Behind the scenes, they had financial issues, as Christian made $7.40 an hour but liked to spend beyond his means.

In December 2001, Michael killed his wife and kids. He strangled his 34-year-old wife and his two-year-old daughter, Madison. He asphyxiated his 4-year-old son Zachary and his three-year-old daughter Sadie.

He dumped them near bodies of water and fled the country. Zachary was found on December 19th. Sadie was found on December 22nd. His wife and his youngest child were found on December 27th.

The same day his wife and youngest daughter were found, Longo was spotted in Cancun, Mexico. The FBI put him on their 10 Most Wanted Fugitive list on January 11th, and he was apprehended two days later.

Legal Proceedings

Prior to his trial, Longo shocked everyone by pleading guilty to the murders of his wife and their youngest daughter. However, he pleaded not guilty to the murders of Zachary and Sadie. He claimed that his wife killed Zachary and Sadie, and he snapped and killed his wife, then killed their youngest child to put her out of his misery.

He was convicted of the murder of Mary Jane and Madison at trial and sentenced to death.

His sentence was commuted to life in prison without the possibility of parole by the governor in 2022.