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Covering Dallas, Monmouth, Independence, Falls City and surrounding areas since 1868
The Polk County Sheriff's office and The Polk County Major Crimes Team is investigating the Tuesday, Aug. 31 double homicide of Scott and Marilyn Jondle, owners and operators of Abundant Life Farms, located outside of Dallas.
POLK COUNTY -- A Salem man was arrested on Tuesday, Aug. 31 for allegedly killing his father and mother on their ranch south of Dallas.
Deputies from the Polk County Sheriff's Office responded at 7:40 a.m. to a report of an unconscious person at 16055 Gilliam Road.
Law enforcement officials discovered the bodies of Scott Jondle, 61, and his wife, Marilyn, 58, in their home -- which sits on their pastoral 210-acre farm.
Though how the couple was killed hasn't been released, both victims appeared to have suffered blunt-force trauma, Polk County Sheriff Bob Wolfe said.
Interviews with friends and family led the Polk County Major Crimes unit to suspect Andrew Jondle, 20, at his South Salem apartment Tuesday morning, Wolfe said.
"We got information that there had been some relations strained between the father and son," he said.
Jondle and his girlfriend, Cindy Lou Beck, 46, of Salem agreed to questioning by deputies and were subsequently arrested.
Andrew Jondle has been charged with two counts of aggravated murder and is currently lodged in Polk County Jail. Beck is accused of conspiracy to commit aggravated murder and hindering prosecution.
Wolfe said his agency has had previous contacts with Jondle family members regarding "domestic issues" and that Andrew had been involved.
Investigators from Oregon State Police and the sheriff's office sifted through the crime scene and at Andrew Jondle's apartment on Tuesday.
Wolfe said it appeared that the murders occurred just before midnight on Aug. 30 and that it was believed the murder weapon was somewhere on the property.
A person delivering water to the Jondles' home noticed the bodies and called 911, Wolfe said, adding that there were no further suspects.
Asked during a press conference if Andrew Jondle confessed to the crime, Wolfe responded: "I'm not going to say at this time."
Scott, a former software engineer for an aerospace company, and Marilyn relocated from California to Dallas in 2000.
They have owned and operated Abundant Life Farm, a sustainable and organic livestock ranch, for the past five years.
More information on the murders of Scott and Marilyn Jondle will be included in the Sept. 8 edition of the Itemizer-Observer.
