Woman denies killing 2 men at apartment complex near Happy Valley

PORTLAND – The woman accused of killing two men at a Happy Valley-area apartment complex late Saturday night was charged with first-degree murder Monday afternoon but denied the allegations during a court appearance captured by KPTV News.

Clackamas County deputies arrested Amanda Kate Gregson, 39, at the Monarch Hotel a few hours after two men were shot and killed.

Deputies responded about 11:13 p.m. Saturday to a report of a shooting at the Reflections apartment complex at 8800 S.E. Causey Loop, the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office said. They were told the shooter had fled on foot after shooting two people inside the apartment. Police have not said exactly how deputies identified Gregson as a suspect.

On Monday, Gregson was charged with the murders of Connor James Gaines, 25, and Jerry Dale Burns, 57. A prosecutor said at the hearing that Gregson walked into her mother’s residence and shot and killed the two “in cold blood.”

“I did not kill those men in cold blood,” Gregson said at the hearing, responding to a prosecutor’s statement. She added, “they were going to kill me.”

It’s unclear whether Gregson knew the two victims. Court records show Gregson has a Seaside address.

Gregson is being held without bail at the Clackamas County Jail. Authorities said they are still looking for the gun used in the shootings, and search and rescue volunteers had searched the area between the apartment complex and the hotel.

Investigators ask anyone with information on the gun’s location, Gregson or the events leading up to the incident to contact the sheriff’s office tip line at 503-723-4949 or the online email form.