PORTLAND — An Oregon man has been charged with murder in the killing of a man who had accused him of stalking after the defendant allegedly had an affair with the victim’s wife.
Hillsboro police said they arrested Steven Milner on Tuesday in the killing of 56-year-old Kenneth Fandrich, an Intel contractor who was found dead in his car in a company parking garage last week.
An autopsy revealed that Fandrich, of Oregon City, died from blunt compression trauma to the neck, police said.
Milner, a 55-year-old retired veterinarian also of Oregon City, just south of Portland, had a stalking order that barred him from contact with Fandrich, according to police, who said there was “a history of problematic interactions between the two.”
The conflict between the men began after Milner had an affair with Fandrich’s wife while she was his employee, Fandrich alleged in a lawsuit filed in September against Milner.
According to the lawsuit, which claimed emotional harm and invasion of privacy, Milner followed Fandrich’s car, trespassed on his property, attached GPS tracking devices to his car and threatened to cut his body into pieces.
“My client claims that he had been stalked for years,” KPTV quoted Fandrich’s lawyer, Michael Fuller, as saying. “I think the lesson to be learned here is justice delayed is justice denied.”
Shelley Aschenbrenner, a defense attorney appointed by the court to represent Milner, didn’t immediately respond to a Thursday phone message seeking comment.
