10/08/2002

By KYLE IBOSHI and JIM PARKER, KGW Staff

Sixteen years later, Jennifer Ordona says she still doesn’t understand what provoked Ward Weaver to attack her.

But the Fairfield, Calif. woman wasn’t surprised when she heard recent news reports that Weaver was charged with deadly attacks on two young Oregon City girls.

Jennifer Ordona, who was attacked by Ward Weaver in the 1980s. (KGW Photo)

The 39-year old Weaver, formally charged last week with the murders of Ashley Pond and Miranda Gaddis, has a history of violence, substance abuse and attacks on young girls stretching to the 1980s.

Ordona had hoped to forget Weaver’s attack on her on a late night in June of 1986, when she was only 16. But she now acknowledges, “I'll always remember that day."

Weaver was intoxicated at the time -- authorities said he had six beers, six shots of vodka, and had used marijuana and other drugs.

He had been staying with the Ordona family for several months and called them from a northern California bowling alley seeking a ride back home.

Jennifer and her younger sister, Jocelyn, took the family's Dodge van to pick him up.

On the ride home, Weaver asked the girls to pull over, so he could relieve himself. When he returned to the van, he opened a door and hit Jocelyn in the head with a chunk of concrete and then wrestled Jennifer to the ground in a headlock.

"You know he's got me down, and he's got me in a headlock and my sister's on his back,” Ordona told KGW. “I'm asking him, Ward -- what are you doing? It's me – Jennifer. You know he was a totally different person."

Weaver's face, she said, was calm. Even today, she cannot explain what set off his explosive rage.

"He didn't seem worried, that's what tripped me out,” she explained. “He didn't say a thing."

The two teenagers managed to break free and run for help. Police later arrested Weaver. He was convicted of assault and sentenced to three years in prison but received an early release.

Ordona said she hasn’t seen or spoken with Weaver since he was sentenced for her attack.

Ward Weaver in this police mugshot following his recent arrest. (KGW Photo)

Ordona said her reaction was one of “shock” when she first heard about Weaver’s alleged involvement in the Oregon City case.

Police and the FBI found Ashley's body stuffed in a steel, 50-gallon drum buried under a concrete pad in his backyard. Weaver said it was the base for a hot tub. Miranda’s body was found in a box, wrapped a plastic bag in his shed.

The chilling details of this latest crime brought back her own nightmare.

"That kind of stuff you just bury and that all came back to surface, what happened to me and my sister -- what could have been," she said.

Ordona is convinced the only reason she and her sister are still alive is because they were able to fight off Weaver together and run for help.

Weaver remains held in the Clackamas County jail. He faces an Oct. 28 trial date on 17 criminal counts including aggravated murder, sex abuse and attempted rape and abuse of a corpse.

Weaver has pleaded innocent to all the charges against him and has refused to comment on the case. Prosecutors have said they will seek the death penalty for Weaver if he's convicted.