The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office is asking anyone who may have interacted with a suspect in the alleged murder of a woman near Sisters last week to reach out to them.
Alexander Mark Smith, 22, of Redmond was arraigned Monday in the death of Tina Klein-Lewis, 55. Klein-Lewis was found dead on her property near Sisters on May 31.
Smith was arrested three days later a few miles away after he requested help from paramedics.
Anyone who saw, had contact or interacted with Smith on May 31 — the day Klein-Lewis died — is asked to call Detective Ben Geist at 541-693-6911.
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Neighbor Vickie Herring saw the arrest. She had seen Smith before and said he seemed disoriented.
“All wrapped up in brown blankets and just really disheveled. It was odd,” Herrings said. “I’ve seen a lot of people down and out, but this was really odd.”
The Deschutes County District Attorney’s Office said Monday that Smith had no known connection to Klein-Lewis.
Prosecutors did give a timeline of some events involving Smith a couple of weeks before Klein-Lewis’ death.
- May 14: Smith went to his parents’ house to do laundry. The parents called police because they said they told Smith not to come on their property. Police issued Smith a citation for trespassing and he was ordered to appear in court on June 14.
- May 16: Smith attempted to enter his parents’ house again. They called police. Smith was arrested for trespassing and taken to Deschutes County Jail. He was released the next day.
- May 31, the day Klein-Lewis was found dead: Smith was arrested for trespassing. There was no police report about the incident, so the DA’s office did not have details about it. Because of that, no charges were filed and Smith was released from jail.
The DA’s office says the state believes Smith’s mental health may be a factor in this case.
