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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Venue Change Requested In Murder Trial

From Staff And Wire Reports

The trial of Girley L. Crum Jr., accused of murdering five members of a Bandon family by cutting their throats, opened Monday with the defense asking the judge to move the case to another town.

Based on a survey of 250 residents of Coos County, defense lawyer Gerald Petersen’s motion for a change of venue argued that Crum couldn’t get a fair trial locally.

Coos County Circuit Judge Richard Barron deferred judgment until he examines questionnaires filled out by the jury pool of 175 people to detect indications of bias, Coos County District Attorney Paul Burgett said.

Crum is charged with five counts of aggravated murder in the deaths of Ray Jacobs, 37, his wife, Kelly, 27, their two children, Jessica, 5, and Christopher, 16 months, and Kelly Jacobs’ brother, Roger Glazebrook, 38, of Spokane.

They were found dead May 9 in the Jacobs’ trailer house, their throats cut. Before he died, Ray Jacobs named Crum, a family friend who had recently gotten out of jail on a parole violation, as his killer. Police followed a trail of blood to Crum, who was lying bloody and barefoot in a nearby field.