Serial Killers Hunted for ‘Jewish-Sounding’ Victims
A white supremacist couple accused of four West Coast murders said they intended to “kill more Jews,” according to court documents.
David Joseph Pedersen and Holly Grigsby were arrested north of Sacramento, Calif., last week after allegedly killing Pedersen’s father, stepmother and two strangers, including 19-year old Cody Myers, in a monthlong killing spree that spanned California, Washington and Oregon.
According to court documents obtained by FOX 12 Oregon, Grigsby told detectives that the couple killed Myers because they believed he was Jewish based on his last name.
“Grigsby also reportedly commented that when arrested, the couple were on their way to Sacramento to ‘kill more Jews,’ ” said the document.
In a jailhouse interview Monday, Pedersen told the Appeal-Democrat that he was guilty of all four murders, but that Grigsby was forced to participate under duress.
Oregon State Police officials told JTA that they have not yet established probable cause to suspect a hate crime.
A message from our editor-in-chief Jodi Rudoren
We're building on 127 years of independent journalism to help you develop deeper connections to what it means to be Jewish today.
With so much at stake for the Jewish people right now — war, rising antisemitism, a high-stakes U.S. presidential election — American Jews depend on the Forward's perspective, integrity and courage.
— Jodi Rudoren, Editor-in-Chief
