Clackamas County, OR — Chad Michael Westover was sentenced Feb. 23 to life in prison, with the possibility of parole after 25 years, for the 2024 killing of a Clackamas County man.
A Clackamas County jury found Westover, 53, guilty in October of Murder in the Second Degree and Unlawful Use of a Weapon in the death of Tristan Thomas. The conviction stemmed from a violent confrontation at an apartment complex on Southeast Sunnyside Road on Sept. 21, 2024.
According to trial testimony, Thomas had earlier quarreled with a neighbor, Christopher Stewart, and pepper-sprayed him during an altercation. Later that evening, Thomas encountered Stewart’s teenage daughter, who became alarmed and contacted her father.
Stewart, Westover and Westover’s cousin, Samantha Christensen, confronted Thomas. Thomas armed himself with a large kitchen knife and called 911 before returning to the stairwell of the apartment he shared with his mother.
Video recorded by neighbors and audio captured during the 911 call documented a three-minute struggle in which Westover repeatedly stabbed Thomas. Witnesses, including Thomas’ mother, shouted for Westover to stop as he continued the assault. Thomas suffered multiple stab wounds, including a four-inch laceration to his left vertebral artery. He died at a hospital on Oct. 3, 2024.
Westover fled the scene and was arrested Sept. 26, 2024, at an Oregon City post office. He initially told others his injuries came from a motorcycle accident.
During sentencing proceedings in November, Thomas’ family described the impact of the killing. “The trauma of his death has changed every part of our lives,” his brother, Paul Kostelnik, said in court.
Westover’s attorneys argued that Thomas was the aggressor and pointed to injuries Westover sustained during the confrontation. They also said Thomas had been intoxicated that night. Prosecutors Torrey McConnell and Chelsea Jones maintained that the evidence, including video and audio recordings, showed Westover carried out a sustained attack.
At sentencing, Westover apologized to Thomas’ family, stating, “I’m sorry for your pain. If I could go back in time, it wouldn’t have happened.”
The case was prosecuted under Clackamas County Circuit Court case number 24CR50697.
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