Portland man gets 16 years in hammer killing

Victim was mentally ill tenant; her body was found in shed

By Associated Press

Published: March 1, 2017, 9:27pm

Gary Lewis (Multnomah County Sheriff's Office)

PORTLAND — A Portland man who killed his mentally ill tenant with a hammer and hid her body in a shed has been sentenced to 16 years in prison.

Gary A. Lewis apologized Wednesday to Renee Sandidge-Crowell’s family in court before he was sentenced on a manslaughter charge.

The Oregonian/OregonLive reported that the 63-year-old Lewis had faced a murder charge but pleaded guilty to manslaughter in a deal with prosecutors.

Court documents show Lewis was trying to evict Sandidge-Crowell from her apartment when she was killed on June 7, 2014.

Surveillance video shows Lewis following his tenant, then dragging her body while also carrying a bloody hammer and bleach.

Her body was found wrapped in a blue tarp inside a false wall in a shed.

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