Ashley's siblings taken from mom, in state custody

09/09/03

NOELLE CROMBIE

and SARAH HUNSBERGER


ESTACADA -- Clackamas County sheriff's investigators took the three younger siblings of slain middle-schooler Ashley Pond into protective custody Monday after a school counselor reported allegations of neglect.

Child abuse investigators picked up Lori Pond's children in the afternoon, getting the two girls from school and her son from Pond's home in Estacada, Detective Jim Strovink said. The children are 12, 8 and 1.

Pond's oldest daughter, Ashley, 12, was the focus of an intensive search after she disappeared from the family's Oregon City apartment complex in January 2002 Her remains were found Aug. 25, 2002, in a neighbor's back yard.

Ward Weaver, 40, has been charged with aggravated murder in Ashley's death, and in the death of her friend, Miranda Gaddis, 13.

Detectives began investigating Pond, 30, on Friday after one of her daughters spoke with an Estacada school counselor, Strovink said. The counselor contacted a sheriff's investigator.

Pond and her children lived with James Keightley, 36, in a mobile home park in Estacada. Strovink said the allegations deal with alcohol use and domestic violence. He said the investigation remains open, but investigators are not pursuing criminal charges against Pond or Keightley.

Strovink said Pond has cooperated with detectives.

Pond's lawyer, Linda Beloof, declined to comment Monday evening. Keightley could not be reached for comment.

A preliminary hearing on the matter is set for today in juvenile court. Patricia Feeny, spokeswoman for the Oregon Department of Human Services, confirmed that Pond's three children were in state custody and would remain there at least until today's hearing.

Feeny declined to say where the children were staying or who was caring for them.

She also declined to discuss the specific circumstances, saying, "Legally, I'm not in a position to disclose any details about the children."

Strovink said police have not been called to Pond's Estacada home.

Feeny declined to say whether state child welfare workers had received any recent complaints regarding Pond's children, citing privacy rules.

"We have worked with the family in the past," Feeny said. "Whatever services the family needs, we will work to provide them."

Before Ashley disappeared, police and court records suggested a home in turmoil. Police went to Lori Pond's apartment in Oregon City six times in 2001 for complaints ranging from a traffic citation to suspicion of juvenile abuse or neglect, according to the sheriff's office.

That year, the state's child protective services called police twice and asked them to check on the welfare of the children.

After months of searching, investigators found Ashley's remains buried beneath a concrete slab in Weaver's back yard. Ashley's schoolmate also was found dead on the property.

In February, Pond notified the state that she intends to sue the child welfare agency for the way it handled a 2001 sexual abuse allegation Ashley made against Weaver.

Weaver has pleaded not guilty to aggravated murder. His trial is scheduled for next summer. Noelle Crombie: 503-294-5927; noellecrombie@news.oregonian.com



2003 OregonLive.com. All Rights Reserved.