Oregon Suspect Accused of Killing 2 Strangers 20 Years Apart Now Admits to Killing One of the Victims: Officials

An Oregon man recently admitted to killing one of two strangers who are presumed to have died more than 20 years apart, and he may be responsible for other deaths, authorities said.

On March 10, 2023, a grand jury indicted Christopher Lovrien, 53, on murder charges in connection with the deaths of Mark Dribin and Kenneth Griffin, according to a statement from the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office obtained by FrontPageDetectives.

Dribin was last seen alive on July 1, 1999, a Portland Police Bureau-provided timeline showed.

Investigators were able to collect an unknown suspect’s DNA from the missing man’s home and vehicle, but the case went cold in August 2000.

In March 2019, the Portland Police Bureau’s Cold Case Homicide Detail reopened the Dribin case and submitted the DNA evidence for a forensic genealogy investigation.

Six months later, Lovrien was identified as a potential suspect. Portland police detectives interviewed Lovrien but did not place him under arrest at the time.

On Feb. 2, 2020, one day after he was last seen alive, Griffin, the second murder victim, was reported missing. 

On April 16 of the same year, portland police detectives secured a search warrant for a sample of Lovrien’s DNA and took him into custody.

Investigators found Griffin’s dismembered remains in a shed on Lovrien’s property, the timeline showed.

“Law enforcement believes both killings to be stranger-related as there is no known connection between Lovrien, Dribin or Griffin,” the D.A.’s statement noted.

In connection with the Dribin and Griffin cases, Lovrien faced charges of two counts of second-degree murder, one count of first-degree abuse of a corpse and six counts of possession of a firearm by a felon.

Earlier this month, Lovrien pleaded guilty to manslaughter in connection with Dribin’s 1999 death. The victim's body has never been found.

Investigators said they also now have reason to believe Lovrien may have other victims “based on evidence found” at the suspect’s residence, according to the district attorney.