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Man charged in killing family appears in court
HOUSTON, Texas (CNN) -- An Oregon man suspected of killing his wife and three children is expected to be returned Tuesday to Oregon to face murder charges, the FBI said. A formal extradition hearing is scheduled for Tuesday morning in Houston, but FBI spokesman Robert Dogium said Christian Michael Longo has indicated that he will not try to fight extradition from Texas to Oregon. Dogium said Longo would spend the night at a Houston jail and be escorted to Portland Tuesday, accompanied by at least two officers from Lincoln County, Oregon. Longo, 27, appeared before a state judge Monday in Houston to hear the charges filed against him by Oregon authorities during a probable cause hearing. A federal charge of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution was dropped to speed the extradition process. Longo was detained by authorities Sunday evening in Tulum, Mexico, about 60 miles south of Cancun, according to Charles Mathews, special agent in charge of Portland's FBI office.
"The publicity in Mexico helped investigators locate Longo at a beach camp in Tulum," Mathews said. He was living in the camp under the name Michael Longo, Mathews said. After Mexican law enforcement officials and FBI agents approached him, he confirmed his identity and agreed to be taken to the United States. Longo had been put on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list Friday. The bodies of two of Longo's children, ages 4 and 3, were found in Alsea Bay in Waldport on December 19 and 22, and divers discovered the bodies of Longo's wife and 2-year-old daughter in Yaquina Bay in Newport, Oregon, a few days later. Longo has been charged with multiple counts of aggravated murder in connection with the deaths. Mathews said a woman from Montreal, Canada, contacted the FBI Friday evening after seeing Longo's picture in the media and on the FBI's Web site. She recognized him from a recent trip to Cancun, she said. "The woman said she arrived in Cancun on December 27 and that day met a man named Brad staying at a Cancun youth hostel," Mathews said. "He later told her his name was Mike." Longo's story had been featured on the show "America's Most Wanted" Saturday night, but a spokesman for the show said the FBI credited Mexican police for the arrest. Longo fraudulently obtained the credit card of another Oregon resident and used that man's name in San Francisco to board an American Airlines plane to Cancun on December 27, Mathews said. He stayed at the Hostel Mexico in Cancun until about January 7, when he was asked to leave, Mathews said. "Apparently there was money stolen from other people at the youth hostel, although it's not directly associated with him. He left shortly after that became apparent," Mathews said. Longo then headed to the beach camp at Tulum, where authorities caught up with him after receiving word that he intended to travel there. The Longo family lived near the Oregon coast, first near Waldport and then in Newport, about 100 miles southwest of Portland, the FBI said. Before that, the family lived in Michigan. Although Longo was only on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list for less than three days, officials said his capture was not a record. In 1969, one fugitive was captured two hours after being placed on the list. -- CNN Correspondent Susan Candiotti and Justice Department Producer Terry Frieden contributed to this report |
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