MEDFORD, Ore. — Jackson County sheriff’s detectives who were investigating a 65-year-old rural Rogue River woman in an identity theft case now suspect she has killed two people in the last year-and-a-half.
Susan Monica was arraigned Monday in Medford on two counts of murder and corpse abuse as well as one count of identity theft. She was ordered held without bail.
Jackson County District Attorney Beth Heckert said in an email that detectives continued to search the property on Tuesday.
Detective Julie Denney told the Mail Tribunethat officers were searching Monica’s 20-acre ranch Friday when they found evidence of homicide. She declined to say whether the bodies were found on the ranch, or what led to the investigation of Monica in the first place.
Victims were not identified in court documents, but they say one was killed in Aug. 1, 2012 and one Sept. 9, 2013.
Heckert said investigators believe they know the names of the two victims, but they were not positively identified. Autopsies were pending.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Allan Smith said the case is expected to be brought before a grand jury this week.
Records indicated Monica bought the property in 1991. A neighbor, who asked to remain anonymous, told the newspaper that Monica was a welder who built wrought-iron gates and fences, and lived in her makeshift barn.
Monica has a limited criminal history in Jackson County that includes a 2001 conviction for resisting arrest and recklessly endangering another person, according to court records.
