Bend, Ore. – 23-year-old Kaylee Sawyer’s accused murderer appeared in a Bend courtroom Thursday to enter a plea of not guilty.
Nearly a month ago, Sawyer’s body was found off a state highway east of Sisters.
31 Year-old Edwin Lara was arraigned on four counts of aggravated murder in Deschutes County Circuit Court.
He appeared by video before Deschutes Circuit Presiding Judge Alta Brady. Lara was silent and stared straight ahead during the arraignment. The only time he spoke was when Brady asked whether he could see the courtroom on his monitor at the jail.
Lara’s court-appointed lawyer, Benjamin Kim of Oregon City, waived his client’s right to a formal reading of the charges. He was held without bail and was ordered Thursday not to have any contact with Sawyer’s family. A pretrial conference was scheduled for Sept. 28.
Earlier this month a Deschutes County grand jury indicted Lara on four counts of aggravated murder, including two counts that allege kidnapping and attempted sexual abuse.
Lawyers in the case have been barred from discussing its details with the media by a judge’s order.
The brief hearing took place before a packed courtroom, including family and friends of Sawyer.
Aggravated murder is the only crime in Oregon punishable by the death penalty, though the governor’s office has had a moratorium on executions since 2011. Deschutes County District Attorney John Hummel has not said whether he will seek the death penalty in the case.
Lara faces other charges in California, including an attempted murder charge involving a gun that could carry a prison sentence of 25 years to life. Prosecutors have tentatively agreed he will be tried in Oregon first.
