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Gerald “Jerry” Stomps, a devoted Oregon Christmas tree farmer, embodied the festive spirit of the season. However, in 2009, his seemingly idyllic life took a mysterious turn when he disappeared without a trace. His wife of 39 years, Hazelynn “Lynn” Stomps, recounted a harrowing tale of a sudden and violent attack by unknown assailants.
The gripping story is explored in Killer Grannies on Oxygen, which airs Sunday, November 30 at 8 p.m. ET. This episode delves into the unsettling events that followed Jerry’s disappearance, uncovering how a grandmother’s lurid story concealed a much more sinister reality.
The case began to unravel on February 6, 2009, when motorists discovered Lynn injured by the roadside near a bridge in Multnomah County, Oregon. According to Lynn, she and Jerry were there to meet potential buyers for their boat. Jerry had allegedly arranged the meeting with a man named Dave, whom he had connected with through Craigslist.
What happened to Jerry Stomps?
On February 6, 2009, motorists found his wife Lynn injured on the side of a road near a bridge in Multnomah County, Oregon.
She said she’d gone there with Jerry to meet prospective buyers for their boat, one named Dave, who he met through Craigslist.
When they got to the bridge, she recalled to officials, there were two men and one pulled a gun and pushed her off the bridge.
She said Jerry was chased through the woods by the other and that when she crawled up the embankment, Jerry was gone.
“She had a broken tailbone, rib and tailbone,” said Multnomah County First Assistant District Attorney Kirsten Snowden. “She didn’t know where Jerry was.”
The Stomps’ red Dodge pickup was at the scene and inside it, sheriffs found bait, which suggested that Jerry planned to go fishing. However, there was no boat hitched to the vehicle, despite Lynn’s story about selling it.
“That’s strange,” said former detective for Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office Keith Krafve. “Why wouldn’t you bring the boat with you?”
A well-coordinated search of the area, including hundreds of volunteers and a canine unit, turned up no trace of Jerry.
How did Lynn and Jerry Stomps meet?
At the time Jerry vanished, he and Lynn had spent decades together. “Lynn married Jerry when she was 16 or 17 years old,” said her friend Patty Zerfing. “Jerry was 6-feet-1, with her being only 4-feet-8. But it worked.”
They started their family on their sprawling Christmas Tree farm in Corbett, Oregon.
“Lynn seemed very happy and content with him,” said her friend Carl Zerfing. “It was like they were meant to be together.”
Lynn and Jerry had two sons and fostered other children. Eventually Lynn became a devoted grandmother. “They were just very generous people,” said Patty. “People trust them.”
Sheriffs focus on the Craigslist “Dave”
Lynn eventually changed her story about the Craigslist buyer, saying Jerry had actually met them through phone. Then, she said she wasn’t sure how exactly they got set up. And suddenly, a red flag was raised.
Still, Lynn assured investigators she and Jerry had nothing to hide. “We’re not into alcohol, drugs or anything like that,” she is heard saying in a recorded interview. “We’re just basic, normal people.”
But as detectives dug deeper, they learned that Jerry was temperamental. “He would get other people stirred up,” said Patty. “I had heard from Lynn he was getting angrier.”
Sheriffs search the Stomps property
A search of Jerry and Lynn’s residence revealed nothing on it with the name “Dave,” the supposed boat buyer.
Investigators did notice, however, that while the rest of the home was messy, the kitchen had recently been cleaned. Then, outside, detectives observed charred bones in burn piles.
Investigators discovered Jerry’s gun, a revolver friends said he always carried with him, in a fanny pack—and it was spattered with blood.
“It was very suspicious,” said the detective. “When we opened the cylinder, we found four bullets and two spent casings.”
The bones and firearm were taken to the crime lab for analysis.
Investigators push Lynn Stomps for details
According to Lynn, on Feb. 1, Jerry watched the Super Bowl at home while also caring for their grandkids.
She said that during the week, Jerry stacked hay, did chores and ran errands. When sheriffs asked Jerry’s family when they last saw him, no one—including the young grandchildren—had seen him for a week.
Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office Forensic Artist Joyce Nagy became involved when she created a composite sketch of the men Lynn said attacked her and Jerry.
She told Killer Grannies she was struck by the fact that Lynn referred to Jerry in the past tense. The fact that Lynn questioned why she had to help create the drawings that could help find Jerry raised another red flag.
“Her attitude was so nonchalant and so disengaging,” said the forensic artist, “we could tell she wasn’t being truthful.”
Evidence mounts against Lynn Stomps
After a deep dive into the couple’s financial situation, detectives learned that the pair had over $50,000 in credit card debt, which Jerry may have been unaware of.
Following up on a McDonald’s receipt dated February 5th found in the Stomps home, detectives learned that Lynn had traveled to Washington State—and surveillance footage showed she was alone.
On February 9, detectives learned that the blood on the revolver matched Jerry’s DNA.
Then, more than 200 human bone fragments were recovered from the Stomps property, forensic anthropologist Dr. Nici Vance, of the Oregon State Medical Examiner’s Office, told Killer Grannies.
Analysis of a charred pelvic bone with soft tissue on it, along with other remains in the burn pile, were found to belong to Jerry.
A man who rented a home near the Stomps’ property told detectives he’d seen smoke coming from there for several days in a row the week Jerry vanished.
He also said he’d spoken to Jerry the week before the Super Bowl and, according to the district attorney, Jerry had mentioned that he might be divorcing Lynn.
Lynn Stomps charged with murder
On February 12, investigators confronted Lynn, asking her if there’d been an accident or if the situation got heated and out of control.
However, she did not confess—and she had no explanation for how Jerry’s bones ended up in grisly backyard burn pile. She was charged with the murder of her husband of 39 years.
Prosecutors theorized that Lynn killed Jerry on January 30 and spent a week covering up her crime.
They believed she staged the truck to make it appear that he went fishing on February 6 and fell into the river. Instead, she was the one to tumble, injuring herself and forcing her to create a new story.
In January 2011, Lynn’s trial began. “Prosecutors didn’t really have a solid motive,” said former Portland Oregonian reporter Stuart Tomlinson, “but they really believed it was her debt that she was trying to cover.”
At the conclusion of the trial, Lynn was convicted. She was sentenced to 25 years to life.
“Hazelynn was very manipulative,” said Vance. “You have to be devious to try to guide detectives down a road that doesn’t really exist.”
Killer Grannies airs Sundays at 8/7c p.m. on Oxygen.
