United States of America
SHAW
Sebastian Alexander
Active between 1991-1994 in Oregon, suspected in California
DID YOU KNOW...
Startling Fact
3 weeks prior to her death, Jennifer Lin's father was accosted by a man who looked like Shaw.
Stupid Fact
Shaw was fired from his job, so he vented his rage on innocent people.
Arrest Fact
Police found Shaw with a "murder kit", but released him as he wasn't wanted for murder at the time.
THE DISPATCH
The Beginning
Sebastian Alexander Shaw (born Chau Quong Ho) was on police radar for a while before he was arrested. He was a suspected sex offender, and DNA from a sex assault matched the DNA from a double murder. The rape victim ID’d Shaw, and police work finally got him arrested. Years after this arrest, he was charged with an earlier murder.
Shaw was fired from his job with a cable company. Outraged, he decided to inflict his rage on an unsuspecting and vulnerable victim.
The Murders
Jay Andrew Rickbeil
- 02 July 1991
- Portland, Oregon
Portland native Jay Andrew Rickbeil was a disciple of a “New Age” religion, and was kind to strangers. The paraplegic man, living on Social Security cheques, often invited strangers over to his apartment, and sometimes gave money when he could.
He made the mistake of inviting Shaw to his Portland, Oregon home on July 2, 1991. Shaw attacked him with a blade, cutting his throat. He bled to death. His roommate found him when they returned home. Rickbeil was 40 years old.
Donna Jene Ferguson and Todd Alexander Rudiger
- 17 July 1992
- Portland, Oregon
Todd Rudiger and his partner Donna Ferguson lived in a trailer home in Portland, Oregon. Their parents became concerned after not hearing from them, and both fathers headed over to the couple’s On July 17, 1992, a year later, Shaw killed Ferguson, 18, and Rudiger, 29. Shaw bound and stabbed each of them in the throat and both bled to death in their trailer home. Ferguson had her hands bound behind her back, and had been sexually assaulted.
Jenny Han-Chi Lin
- 27 May 1994
- Palomares Hills, Castro Valley, California
Two years after the last murders, on May 24, 1994, 14-year-old Jenny Han-Chi Lin was killed in Castro Valley, California. She was found partially clad in the bathroom of the family home. She had been stabbed multiple times.
Police were baffled by the death, as there was no struggle, and no sign of sexual assault or robbery. Some of her clothes had been torn.
Like Ferguson and Rudiger, Lin was found by her father. Her father was relentless in his search for her killer.
Weeks earlier, Lin’s father had been accosted in a parking lot by a stranger. The man said he had Lin’s daughter. Knowing his daughter was safe at violin practice, Lin dismissed the claim. He later hired a sketch artist to draw the man. Lin’s father organized volunteers to help track the killer. A reluctant neighbour who was a potential witness was finally located by police, but it did not lead to an arrest.
Shaw Arrested for Car Theft, Released
- 31 August 1994
- San Ramon, California
Shaw was found by San Ramon police, asleep in a green Pontiac near a burglary scene, on August 31, 1994. The car had been stolen from Contra Costa County. Police found a “murder kit” consisting of pornography, binoculars, handcuffs, a ski mask, gloves, duct tape and knives.
Contra Costa County authorities did not want to press charges for the car theft. San Ramon authorities did not pursue any burglary charges. Shaw was released from custody. He was not a suspect in any murder.
Indictments & Arrest
Shaw Arrested for Murder, Rape
- 20 February 1998
- Portland, Oregon
On February 20, 1998, Shaw was arrested in Portland. He was charged with the murders of Ferguson and Rudiger, and with an unrelated 1995 rape. Police had obtained his DNA from a cigarette butt he had discarded outside a supermarket.
Shaw was indicted March 3 on murder and rape charges for Ferguson and Rudiger, based on new evidence.
He was also charged with a 1995 sexual assault, in which the victim fought him for more than 20 minutes before escaping.
Shaw Pleads Guilty and is Sentenced
- 18-22 February 2000
- Portland, Oregon
Shaw plead guilty to the attacks on Ferguson and Rutiger on February 18.
On February 22, 2000, Shaw was sentenced to 2 life terms for the murders of Ferguson and Rudiger. He also got 30 years for the 1995 sexual assault, deemed aggravated attempted murder. He pleaded guilty just before the trial started, to avoid the death penalty.
He also got 30 years for the 1995 sexual assault, which courts have deemed aggravated attempted murder. Pleading guilty allowed Shaw to avoid the death penalty.
While in prison, Shaw claimed he killed 10-12 people, but did not give authorities enough detail to review the confessions. Sometimes, killers make claims to bolster their standing in prison, and for attention. Since police never pursued the confessions, we will never know if his claims were true. But Shaw’s DNA did link him to one more murder: Rickbeil in 1991.
Shaw is Acquitted in Rickbeil's Murder
- 05 May 2004
- Portland, Oregon
A Multnomah county judge threw out the charges against Shaw for the murder of Rickbeil, before the trial even started.
The judge said the prosecution’s actions made it too difficult for Shaw to defend himself.
Prosecution authorities appealed, and won a new trial against Shaw.
Shaw is Found Guilty in Rickbeil's Murder
- 04 May 2006
- Portland, Oregon
Almost 2 years to the day the first charge in Rickbeil’s death was thrown out, Shaw is found guilty in the man’s murder.
The jury deliberated for 6 hours over 2 days, and voted 9-3 for the death penalty. However, the death penalty requires a unanimous vote, so Shaw is given a 3rd life sentence.
On May 9, 2006, Shaw was sentenced to life without parole for Rickbeil’s murder.
As of June 2021, Shaw remains in an Oregon prison.
Charges Dropped in Lin Murder
- 23 May 2007
- Castro Valley, California
Police suspected Shaw for Lin’s murder, and tried for years to connect him to the case. On May 24, 2006, police publicly said Shaw is a suspect in Lin’s murder. On May 23, 2007, prosecutors announce they had dropped charges against Shaw in Lin’s murder due to lack of evidence. The county Sheriff’s Office still considers Shaw a suspect, and the case remains open.
SIMILAR SERIAL KILLERS
Keith Hunter Jesperson
Jesperson was also active in Oregon and California
Nathaniel Cook
Cook was an American serial killer also arrested in February, 1998
Gary Charles Evans
Both Shaw and Evans had alcoholic fathers
BOOKS
Books about or including John Joseph Fautenberry
Lust To Kill by Robert Scott
Publisher : Pinnacle; Original edition (May 1, 2009)
Language : English
Mass Market Paperback : 304 pages
ISBN-10 : 0786018860
ISBN-13 : 978-0786018864
Driven By Rage
Sebastian Shaw was a walking time bomb. Office gossip, dirty dishes, the wrong look–anything could set him off. And once it did, nothing stopped the most terrifying killer Oregon police had ever met…
A Need To Kill
Only murder appeased Shaw’s fury. But he didn’t kill the people who offended him–they were the lucky ones. Instead, he hunted down innocent victims–men, women, teenage beauties–and unleashed his bloody urge to kill…to rape…to paint in blood.
A Murderer’s Boast
Finally, with the courageous testimony of a survivor, and high-tech CSI, Shaw was put behind bars for life. But the gruesome tale didn’t end there, as Shaw bragged about a dozen more murders he had never been charged with…
THE STATS
Sebastian Alexander Shaw in historical timeline
Statistical Table for Sebastian Alexander Shaw
| Killer Name | Shaw, Sebastian Alexander |
| Gender | M |
| Arrest Date | February 20, 1998 |
| Conviction Date | February 18, 2000 |
| Sentence | 3 Life terms in total |
| Birth Location | Vietnam |
| Birth Date | November 28, 1967 |
| Status | Alive or Unknown |
| Height | 172 |
| Suffer Physical Abuse | Father disciplined Shaw with board, belt, or rocks |
| Sexual Abuse | 3rd grade sexually assaulted by two of father's friends |
| School Grade | GED |
| School Degree | High school diploma |
| Teased | Yes, because of his weight |
| Military Service | US Marines |
| Military Discharge | Discharged for failing to keep weight down |
| Applied for Police Job | Yes |
| Worked in Police/Security | Dispatcher |
| Fired | Yes, multiple jobs |
| Job Types | Security, cashier, police dispatcher |
| Labour Type | Blue |
| Sexual Preference | Straight |
| Marital Status | Single |
| Killer Type | Non-specific, Territorial |
| Alcohol Abuse | Yes |
| Total Dead Victims | 4 |
| Victims (Suspected) | 1 |
| Victims (Convicted) | 3 |
| Victim Gender | Various |
| Victim Race | Asian, White |
| Victim Age | 14, 18, 29, 40 |
| Victim Type | Strangers |
| Sex Assault | Yes |
| Stalking | Yes |
| Efficient | Yes |
| Blindfold | Yes |
| Binding | Yes |
| Previous Crimes | Yes, stole car and guns |
| Spent Time in Jail | About two weeks for a stolen car |
| Previous Prison Time | No |
| Prison Name | Oregon Department of Corrections |
Killer Rating
RESOURCES
- Statesman Journal (Jul 22, 1992)
- The Napa Valley Register (May 31, 1994)
- The San Francisco Examiner (Aug 11, 1994)
- The San Francisco Examiner (Oct 05, 1994)
- Corvallis Gazette-Times (Mar 03, 1998)
- Corvallis Gazette-Times (May 05, 2004)
- Albany Democrat-Herald (May 04, 2006)
- The Fresno Bee (May 24, 2007)
- Appeal CC 010331742; SC S51416 (June 16, 2005)