An Oregon City roofer has been charged with murder after allegedly stabbing a man to death, court records show.
Chad Westover, 52, was one of several people who arrived at Tristan Thomas’ apartment building Sept. 21 in Clackamas and accused him of stalking a neighbor’s daughter, court records show
Westover straddled Thomas on the ground and stabbed him multiple times with Thomas’ knife as Thomas screamed for help, according to interviews with witnesses and cellphone audio footage captured at the scene, as detailed in the court records. Westover left the scene, the records claim, and Thomas was taken to Oregon Health and Science University’s intensive care unit and intubated.
Westover was originally charged with first-degree assault and unlawful use of a weapon. After Thomas died last Thursday, the assault charge was replaced with a second-degree murder murder charge.
Thomas grew up in Portland and had worked for about a dozen years as a U.S. postal worker, his cousin, Brandon Thomas, told The Oregonian/OregonLive. Brandon Thomas has started a GoFundMe page for his cousin’s medical, legal and funeral expenses.
“Tristan was a pillar to his community, giving back by delivering mail to the same community he grew up in,” Brandon Thomas wrote. He added that Tristan Thomas was “quirky, boisterous, lovable, vibrant and had a presence about him that brought a smile to many.”
