09/26/2002

By KYLE IBOSHI and ABE ESTIMADA, KGW Staff

Ward Weaver’s sons and ex-wife testified Thursday before a grand jury considering charges in the homicides of Ashley Pond and Miranda Gaddis.

Those summoned to testify entered and left the Oregon City courthouse without saying a word to reporters. Weaver’s ex-wife, Maria Shaw, and his two sons, Francis and Alexander, appeared in front of the grand jury before noon.

Ward Weaver. (Police/KGW Photo)

The grand jury may hand down an indictment against Weaver, the prime suspect in the homicides of Ashley Pond and Miranda Gaddis. Weaver has been in Clackamas County Jail since Aug. 13 for allegedly raping his son’s fiancé. He has not been charged in the deaths of Ashley and Miranda.

The grand jury began hearing testimony on Tuesday before taking a break on Wednesday. A number of key players, including agents with the FBI and Oregon City police investigators, appeared before the grand jury on Tuesday as prosecutors began laying out their case.

Lori Pond, Ashley’s mother, was among the people before the grand jury. Testimony before the grand jury is given behind closed doors with no court reporter and no cameras or tape recorders.

Those summoned to testify before the grand jury entered the Oregon City courthouse about 8:30 a.m. today without saying a word to reporters.

Ashley disappeared January 9, and Miranda vanished March 8.

Later in the summer, Weaver told reporters that the Federal Bureau of Investigation had identified him as its prime suspect in the disappearances of the two Oregon City girls.

After Weaver was arrested, investigators from the FBI and Oregon City police searched the backyard of his rental home. There, they found Miranda’s remains stuffed into a box in a shed. They found Ashley’s remains inside a barrel buried beneath a concrete slab.