Deborah Lee Atrops disappeared after never picking up her daughter from her estranged husband’s home in 1988, authorities in Oregon said.
Her body was then found in her car trunk, but investigators never arrested anyone in her death until 35 years later.
On Thursday, March 2, her estranged husband was arrested on a second-degree murder charge, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.
He had initially reported her missing after she failed to return from her hair appointment to pick up their adopted 8-month-old daughter from his Sherwood home on Nov. 29, 1988, deputies said.
When he didn’t hear from her, he called her acquaintances and family, deputies said. Then he contacted the Tigard Police Department to make a missing person report.
An official missing person report was made Nov. 30 by the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, deputies said.
‘Suspicious vehicle’ found in Beaverton
On Dec. 1, a city employee reported a “suspicious vehicle” parked at a dead end in Beaverton, deputies said.
The keys were left on the driver’s seat of the 1988 black Honda Accord, and authorities said the car had been parked there since Nov. 30.
Investigators found her body in the trunk of the car, deputies said.
Atrops, 30, had been “physically assaulted and strangled to death,” authorities said. Her death was ruled a homicide.
But Deborah Atrops’ case eventually went cold, authorities said.
Case gets a new look
The case was reopened in 2021 after the Washington County District Attorney’s Office got a federal grant called Prosecuting Cold Cases Using DNA.
Witnesses were re-interviewed and forensic evidence was reexamined. The prosecutors brought the case to a Washington County grand Jury on Feb. 28 of this year.
Robert Atrops was indicted on a second-degree murder charge by the jury, and he was arrested on Thursday, March 2, in the killing of Deborah Atrops.
If you are experiencing domestic violence and need someone to talk to, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline for support at 1-800-799-7233 or text “START” to 88788.
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