Ill-fated St. Helens Bicycle Rider had Dark Past
Richard
By Leslie Slape
Oct 15, 2007 - 08:27:09 am PDT
A woman whose sister was stabbed and strangled to death in 1981 in
Toledo, Ore., said when her family learned her murderer was killed in
an accident on Highway 30 earlier this month, they felt that fate had
punished him for his crime.
But friends of Christofer Raymond Mabe say they grieve for the man
they describe as kindhearted, gregarious, helpful and hard-working.
They can't understand the need to cast a shadow on someone who changed
his life for the better.
"We don't know that other person," said Sheri Thomas, who owns Al's
Transmission in St. Helens with her husband, Herb, and cherished
Mabe's friendship.
"We've been blessed and privileged to watch him grow and become the
person that he was," she said. "It was an awesome thing, and it hurts
everybody to hear the stuff that's been said."
Mabe, 49, had been a mechanic at Al's Transmission nearly 11 years,
Herb Thomas said.
"He's the best employee I've ever had," Thomas said. He said Mabe was
honest with everyone about his past.
"To me, as long as you do your job and stuff, I don't have a problem."
Mabe, who lived in Columbia City, was riding his Huffy 636 mountain
bicycle to work on Oct. 1 when Oregon State Police say he inexplicably
crossed into the southbound fast lane and into the path of a 2001
Mazda Tribute driven by Rebecca Harrison, 48, of Deer Island.
Sgt. Larry Lucas said Mabe made a left turn earlier than he normally
did, but police will probably never learn why.
The impact of Harrison's car threw him off the bike and killed him,
police said.
A second vehicle driven by Steven Graves, 31, of Kelso, was unable to
avoid hitting Mabe's body.
"Everybody I've talked to that knew the story, all they say is
'karma,' " said Vicki Daniels of Toledo, sister of Sharon Wood Mabe.
"Especially when they heard he got hit twice. They say, 'Once for her,
once for her baby.' "
Christofer Mabe, then 23, was convicted of murdering his 8-months-
pregnant wife, Sharon, on Feb. 8, 1981, according to court records in
Lincoln County, Ore. An autopsy determined she died of stabbing and
strangulation.
"After he killed her, he called us up at 2:07 in the morning and said,
'Guess what? Sharon's missing,' " said Daniels, who adopted the
couple's son. She said the boy told her he witnessed the murder, which
took place on his second birthday.
The body was found Feb. 12 dumped over an embankment in a wooded area
a few miles away, the Lincoln County Leader newspaper reported. Mabe
served 10 years in prison after appealing his original sentence of 25
years to life.
Daniels said news of Mabe's death has reopened the wound, but she
feels relief because she was afraid of Mabe, whom she suspected of
being behind threatening letters and phone calls.
"I don't have that fear anymore of him showing up," she said. "I've
looked over my shoulder for almost 27 years." She said her sister met
Mabe at an emotional low point when her church wouldn't allow her to
teach Sunday school after a divorce.
"He had a way with words and a way with women," Daniels said. But
Daniels never liked him.
"Chris Mabe was a monster that has played in a movie over and over in
my head," she said. "It'll never be over. I'll take it to the grave
with me."
According to Mabe's obituary, he moved to the St. Helens area in 1994
and remarried in 2001. He was a pit crew member at the River City
Speedway in St. Helens and did volunteer work.
"He made a good life here and made a lot of friends," Sheri Thomas
said. "He truly is a completely different person."
Herb Thomas said Mabe wasn't proud of his crime, but "we didn't know
that Chris. They're not even the same two people."
Sheri Thomas said, "I would like for the people in his past to be able
to heal, also. I hate that they aren't letting it go; it's hurting his
family. It's not hurting him; he's gone."
But Daniels finds it impossible to forgive the man.
"I'm a Christian, I'm supposed to pray for my enemies, but it's a
fitting end to his life," she said.
amelia...@gmail.com
> Ill-fated St. Helens Bicycle Rider had Dark Past
>
> By Leslie Slape
> Oct 15, 2007 - 08:27:09 am PDT
>
> A woman whose sister was stabbed and strangled to death in 1981 in
> Toledo, Ore., said when her family learned her murderer was killed in
> an accident on Highway 30 earlier this month, they felt that fate had
> punished him for his crime.
Maybe it's me. But I thought that was one of the most confusing news
stories I've ever read.
MWB
The second car to hit him was driven by Graves. That's SPOOKY
GO RED SOX
Mark