PORTLAND, Ore., Nov. 27 (UPI) -- A man confessed to Portland, Ore., police he committed three murders, in 1975, 1977 and 1993, and was held without bail after a court hearing.
Police say Jeffrey Cutlip, 63, a predatory sex offender after convictions in Oregon for sodomy and burglary in 1982, traveled to Brownsville, Texas, earlier this year without reporting his move to authorities, then phoned local police to talk with detectives "about some bad things he had done in his past," a Brownsville police spokesman said.
Portland police Detective Meredith Hopper interviewed Cutlip a day later, and testified Cutlip said, "I want to get this over with. I want to clear this up."
Cutlip confessed to strangling his neighbor Marlene Claire Carlson, then 44, in Portland in 1975, then sexually assaulting her body. He also detailed his drowning of Julie Marie Bennett, then 15, of Milwaukie, Ore., in 1977 and strangling Nielen Loribell Doll, then 33, of Spokane in 1993, The (Portland) Oregonian reported Tuesday.
The drowning of Bennett had been classified as accidental until Cutlip's confession, the newspaper noted.
Police describe Cutlip's motive as sexual gratification. Detectives said he particularly enjoyed tying up his victims, and in two of the cases, having sex with their corpses.
Defense attorneys in court pointed out a lack of forensic evidence and raised questions about Cutlip's mental state, noting he has spent time at Oregon State Hospital.
Cutlip's was indicted in Multnomah County, Ore., Circuit Court in the three homicides, and faces counts of murder and aggravated murder.
