Lori Pond loses custody of three children


The Associated Press


9/8/2003, 6:01 p.m. PT


OREGON CITY, Ore. (AP) Lori Pond, the mother of one of two girls found murdered in a neighbor's back yard in August of last year, has temporarily lost custody of her three other children in an abuse investigation, officials said Monday.


The Clackamas County Sheriff's Office Child Abuse Team brought the children ranging in age from 1 to 12 years old into protective custody after a school councilor in Estacada reported a case of abuse by neglect.

Alcohol use and domestic violence were an issue in the case, according to a statement from the sheriff's office. The children had lived with Pond and a roommate, James C. Keightley, in Estacada, the statement said.

An initial hearing is scheduled for Tuesday at the Clackamas County Juvenile Court.

Pond's attorney Linda Beloof said Monday she was aware of the abuse investigation but could not comment.

Ashley Pond, who was 12 at the time, vanished on her way to school from a low-income neighborhood south of Portland on Jan. 9, 2002, where she lived with her mother and siblings.

When her schoolmate Miranda Gaddis disappeared under near identical circumstances two months later, the FBI launched a massive, nationwide search.

Ashley's remains were discovered a few hundred yards from their front doors, buried and wrapped in a plastic bag in the back yard of neighbor Ward Weaver. Miranda's remains were found in Weaver's shed.

The district attorney is seeking the death penalty against Weaver.


Copyright 2003 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.



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