HILLSBORO, Ore. — A Tualatin man accused of beating his mother to death and trying to do the same to his brother was convicted on Tuesday by a Washington County jury.
43-year-old Michael Stuart Ross was found guilty of second-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, two counts of second-degree assault, two counts of unlawful use of a weapon and two counts of solicitation to commit first-degree murder.
In May of 2018, Ross stabbed and bludgeoned his 73-year-old mother to death with a steel pipe in the Tualatin home that they shared. He also attacked his brother with the pipe, but the other man managed to escape to a neighbor's house in order to call 911.
Both Tualatin police and deputies from the Washington County Sheriff's Office responded to the scene. Ross came out of the house when ordered, and officers found his mother's body inside. Police took Ross into custody.
While detained at the Washington County Jail, prosecutors said that he "befriended" another inmate and confessed to killing his mother. He also offered to pay the inmate tens of thousands of dollars if the man murdered Ross' two brothers once he got out on bail.
"The defendant anticipated a large inheritance from his mother’s estate and wished to prevent their testimony against him," the Washington County District Attorney's Office said in a statement.
The inmate that Ross had tried to bribe passed on the information to authorities and cooperated with the investigation, the DA's office said. The two counts of solicitation to commit murder were added to Ross' case as a result.
Ross' trial began on March 1, and the jury quickly returned convictions on all counts when the proceedings wrapped this week. He is scheduled for sentencing on April 1 at 8:15 a.m.
