Kate Johnson Murder: DNA Match, Aydiner Plea, and Appeals

The Kate Johnson murder was solved in 2003 when DNA evidence linked Deniz Cinar Aydiner, a Turkish citizen and former University of Portland student, to the sexual assault and strangling of the 21-year-old music education major in her Mehling Hall dorm room on May 29, 2001. Aydiner had already returned to Turkey by the time the match came back, so Multnomah County prosecutors worked with federal immigration officials to lure him back into the United States, where he was arrested at the airport in January 2004. He eventually pleaded no contest and was sentenced to life in prison.¹

Who Kate Johnson Was

Catherine “Kate” Johnson grew up in Vancouver, Washington, and was a junior at the University of Portland, a private Catholic school in North Portland. She was studying music education and wanted to be a high school band teacher.²³

When she died, Johnson was working as a summer building manager at Mehling Hall, one of the campus residence halls. She had previously lived and worked at the front desk in Kenna Hall.³

What Happened at Mehling Hall

Memorial Day weekend, 2001. Classes had been out for nearly a month and the dormitory was almost empty. Friends found Johnson on May 29, 2001, in her second-floor room, lying on her back on the floor, unclothed, in a locked room.¹ A memo from Deputy State Medical Examiner Nikolas Hartshorne determined that she had died from manual strangulation and had been sexually assaulted.⁴ Examiners also noted “railroad-track-pattern” injuries around her wrists, consistent with handcuff restraint.

There were no signs of forced entry into either the building or Johnson’s room, which raised the obvious question of how her killer got in.⁴

Why the Case Went Cold

Early investigative work turned up little. Detectives reviewed electronic logs of student ID card swipes at Mehling Hall and found nothing useful, and by August 2001 they were collecting DNA samples from university employees who had access to the dorm. By April 2002, Portland Police Bureau Detective John Rhodes said publicly that there were no suspects and no significant leads.⁴

The locked-door problem had a plausible explanation that pointed back at the university itself. Between March 10 and March 20, 2001, three rooms at Mehling Hall had been burglarized over spring break, and police reports noted no signs of forced entry on those break-ins either, suggesting someone had used a master key.⁴ John Garner, the university’s former director of public safety, who had overseen campus security for 22 years, said the school lacked adequate control over its master keys and that he had raised the issue with superiors. University officials said they re-keyed exterior locks after the March burglaries, but an attorney later retained by the Johnson family said exterior doors had not actually been addressed by the time of the murder.⁵ Russell Johnson, Kate’s father, said the university never told the family about the prior burglaries or the key concerns. “The key situation was our biggest question. We got no information,” he said. “Nobody ever mentioned lost keys.”

The DNA Match

In early 2003, a team of four detectives widened the investigation to people who had known Johnson and were on campus around the time of the murder.¹ Aydiner, a former University of Portland student and acquaintance of Johnson, was one of those approached. On February 5, 2003, he voluntarily gave police an oral DNA swab.⁶

On June 3, 2003, the Oregon State Police Crime Lab reported that Aydiner’s DNA matched a stain on a pillowcase in Johnson’s room and a swab taken from her right wrist.⁶ Prosecutor Norm Frink later said the case rose and fell on that match, telling reporters the prosecution “could not have prevailed without DNA evidence.”⁷

Luring Aydiner Back From Turkey

By the time the lab results came back, Aydiner had returned to Turkey and his U.S. business visa had expired. On June 4, 2003, investigators confirmed he was in Istanbul. They also learned through the Department of Homeland Security that Aydiner and his American wife were already trying to get him back into the United States on a spousal visa.⁶

Prosecutors decided to use that process against him. On November 7, 2003, a Multnomah County court issued an arrest warrant for Aydiner. The warrant was sealed and kept out of local, national, and international databases. Three days later, the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office asked Homeland Security for “silent parole,” which would let Aydiner re-enter the country without being tipped off to the charges waiting for him.⁶

In December 2003, Aydiner’s wife received an email from a Department of Homeland Security employee at the U.S. Embassy in Athens informing her that Aydiner had been granted a waiver of ineligibility. He was told to visit the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, where he gave fingerprints and was told his visa would be held until he bought airline tickets. On January 16, 2004, Aydiner landed in the United States and was arrested at the airport.⁶¹

The Plea and Sentence

A Multnomah County grand jury indicted Aydiner on 20 felony counts, including 11 counts of aggravated murder, kidnapping, first-degree sexual abuse, attempted rape, sodomy, and multiple counts of first-degree burglary. The burglary charges tied him to the March 2001 Mehling Hall break-ins, two months before Johnson’s murder.⁶⁵

Represented by Portland defense attorney Stephen A. Houze, Aydiner moved to dismiss the case on two grounds: that he had not voluntarily given his DNA swab because police misled him about the immigration consequences, and that law enforcement had violated the U.S.–Turkey extradition treaty by manipulating the immigration process to trick him into coming back.⁸ The trial court denied the motion on June 27, 2005, and denied reconsideration on July 12, 2005.⁶

On February 10, 2006, Aydiner entered a conditional no-contest plea to 18 counts: ten counts of aggravated murder, one count of first-degree sexual abuse, one count of attempted rape, two counts of first-degree sodomy, and four counts of first-degree burglary.⁹ Under Oregon law a no-contest plea is not an admission of guilt but is treated the same as a guilty plea for sentencing. The conditional plea let Aydiner preserve his right to appeal the denial of the motion to dismiss while taking the death penalty off the table.¹⁰ He received a life sentence with parole eligibility after 37 years, reduced to roughly 35 years with credit for time served.⁷

The plea agreement also included a confidential arrangement between Aydiner and the Johnson family, who were represented by attorney John R. Potter. Reports at the time suggested it likely required Aydiner to provide testimony supporting a potential wrongful death and negligence lawsuit against the University of Portland. No civil suit had been filed as of early 2006.⁷

Appeals

Aydiner spent years challenging the way he had been brought back into the country, arguing that law enforcement used deceit to get around the U.S.–Turkey extradition treaty and deprived the trial court of personal jurisdiction over him. On May 13, 2009, the Oregon Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court. Relying on the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1992 decision in United States v. Alvarez-Machain, the court held that the treaty was not the exclusive means of securing a defendant’s presence for prosecution, and because no formal extradition request had been filed, the treaty’s procedures were never triggered.¹¹

The Oregon Supreme Court declined review, and the U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari in 2010. Aydiner then filed a federal habeas corpus petition in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon, which Judge Malcolm F. Marsh denied on October 10, 2013, also denying a certificate of appealability.⁶

Where Things Stand

Aydiner remains incarcerated at the Oregon State Penitentiary. He will not be eligible for parole consideration until approximately 2039.⁶

Johnson’s funeral was held on June 4, 2001, at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Vancouver, Washington, and a memorial service at the University of Portland drew more than 400 people that August.³ The university established the Catherine Johnson Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service in her name.²

1
The Oregonian. Court Rejects Turkish Man’s Appeal
2
University of Portland. Moreau Center Scholarships and Awards
3
University of Portland Digital Commons. The Beacon, Vol. 105, Iss. 13
4
Willamette Week. The Murder at Mehling Hall
5
Willamette Week. Key Evidence
6
GovInfo. Aydiner v. Premo, 6:11-cv-01300-MA
7
Shouze. No Contest Plea Staves Off Death Penalty
8
Shouze. Attorney Says Treaty Ignored in Killing Case
9
University of Portland Digital Commons. The Beacon, Vol. 107, Iss. 16
10
vlex. Aydiner v. Premo, 6:11-cv-01300-MA
11
FindLaw. State v. Aydiner, 228 Or.App. 282