Cold case killer found guilty in second 2020 murder, given life sentence
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – A man who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for a cold case dating back to 1999 will now spend the rest of his life in prison for murdering another man in 2020, the Multnomah County district attorney’s office announced Monday.
Christopher Lovrien, 56, was found guilty of killing Kenneth Griffin after detectives searched a shed at Lovrien’s home and found Griffin’s dismembered remains in 2021, according to court documents.
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Griffin was last seen on Feb. 1, 2020, and reported missing the following day.
On April 15, a jury found Lovrien guilty of second-degree murder and first-degree abuse of a corpse. He had already been in prison for another crime before the jury made their decision.
Lovrien was previously sentenced to 20 years in prison for the first-degree manslaughter of Mark Dribin, who disappeared in July of 1999. The location of his body remains unknown.
After a genetic genealogy test solved the cold case, Lovrien was indicted for the murder at the same time as his indictment for Griffin’s murder in 2021. However, his sentencing for the cold case took place on Jan. 12.
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The second sentencing from Judge Christopher Ramras added several years to Lovrien’s time in prison.
“Judge Ramras ordered that the sentences for the murder and abuse of a corpse of Griffin run consecutively to the manslaughter conviction for killing Dribin,” according to the district attorney’s office. “As a result, Lovrien will not be eligible to apply for parole until he has served 46 years in prison”
Investigators don’t believe Lovrien knew either of his victims, but previously told KOIN 6 News they think he may have killed more people based on evidence found in his home.
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“We have evidence there may be additional victims — how many and from when and where are some things we can’t get into. But yeah, more than the two we know about,” Cold Case Homicide Detective Brendan McGuire said.
Anyone with information about missing persons who may have been living under the I-205 bridge in Southeast Portland between the summer of 2019 and May 2020 should contact Portland police.
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