Murder 'exceptionally violent and heartbreaking'

By KVAL.com staff Published: Oct 1, 2009 at 11:01 AM PST Last Updated: Oct 2, 2009 at 4:29 PM PST
Murder 'exceptionally violent and heartbreaking' »Play Video
Yvonne Perry

CORVALLIS, Ore. -- Police charged a 63-year-old man with bludgeoning to death with a ball-peen hammer a 78-year-old woman with Parkinson's disease who was confined to a wheelchair.

Corvallis police arrested David W. McCaffery (at right) on suspicion of murder Thursday. He is being held without bail.

Investigators believe McCaffery murdered Yvonne Perry with a large ball-peen hammer. A cable installer who went to the wrong apartment discovered the body on Sunday, Aug. 9.

“Based on the injuries of our victim, we know that it’s homicidal,” Captain Jonathan Sassaman of the Corvallis Police told KVAL News at the time. Sassaman said Thursday that the suspect and the victim knew one another.

In a press release Thursday, Corvallis police hinted at the details of the crime scene.

"Yvonne Perry suffered extensive and multiple head wounds caused by blunt force trauma with the ball-peen hammer," police said in the release. "The homicide scene can best be described as exceptionally violent and heartbreaking."
 
McCaffery is expected to be arraigned at the Benton County Courthouse on Friday, Oct. 2, at 1:20 p.m.

McCaffery was initially arrested on July 28 on suspicion of physically assaulting his ex-wife, Loretta McCaffery. As a result of that arrest, a court issued a restraining order. Police said McCaffery violated the order and was arrested on Tuesday, Aug. 11, for contempt of court.

Police said the murder weapon has been confirmed through DNA at the Oregon State Police Crime Lab.

This was the first major crime investigation in Corvallis since Brook Wilberger’s disappearance in 2004.

Neighbors told KVAL News that Perry had Parkinson’s disease and used a wheelchair to get around and she had only been living there a few months.
 
People in Corvallis were shocked at a woman being killed in their neighborhood, the city's first homicide in 5 years.
 
“It’s scary to hear about someone getting killed right here where I live,” Shari Bayanovsky said.
 
Annie Simmonds lives just feet away from the crime scene.
 
“Just that this would happen, around here, I mean I have always heard this is a safe town,” she said.  
 
Simmonds met Perry at the apartment complex’s laundry facility.
 
“She was just so sweet," Simmonds said. "When I was talking to her, she was just like a sweet old lady."

 

Anyone with information related to this case should call the Corvallis Police Department, Detective Tyson Poole at (541) 766-6975.