Insets (from left to right): Jennifer Ruth Stuart and William Glen Blake (Clackamas County Sheriff”s Office’s). Background: Mount Hood National Forest in Clackamas County, Oregon, where Stuart’s body was found (KPTV/YouTube).
An Oregon resident has confessed to murdering his girlfriend amid a heated dispute at their residence, subsequently concealing her body in a plastic bin and discarding it in the woods.
William Glen Blake, aged 56, this week acknowledged his guilt in the Clackamas County Circuit Court for the second-degree murder of 38-year-old Jennifer Ruth Stuart. He received a life sentence, with the possibility of parole after serving 25 years.
As part of a plea deal with the prosecution, additional charges against Blake were dropped, as confirmed by the Clackamas County District Attorney’s Office. Prior charges included abuse of a corpse, unlawful use of a weapon with domestic intent, and evidence tampering, as previously covered by Law&Crime.
On August 14, Blake and Stuart were at their Oregon City home on Hilltop Lane. During an argument, Blake fatally shot Stuart and then drove to a Home Depot to purchase a large tote, garbage bags, and gloves, according to authorities.
Investigators believe Blake’s 15-year-old son assisted him in transporting the body, potentially using a 2002 red and gray Chevrolet Avalanche pickup truck. They also sought to question Blake’s 17-year-old son.
Authorities suspect Blake disposed of Stuart’s body in Mount Hood National Forest, supported by surveillance footage from both Home Depot and the vicinity of the body’s discovery. Prosecutors noted that Blake initially placed Stuart’s body in the tote but later retrieved it to avoid being linked to the crime.
About two weeks later, a couple were hunting off Hillockborn Road in the forest when they “noted the presence of turkey vultures swarming around an object and saw what appeared to be human remains.” The Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office used fingerprints to identify the body as Stuart’s, and an autopsy determined she died from a gunshot wound to the lower left side of her body.
According to investigators, “Blake had a history of physical[ly] abusing Stuart,” with one of their neighbors telling police he “regularly” hurt her. He was identified as a “primary suspect,” and law enforcement searched his home. The second time they did so, they reportedly found the tote.
Blake was arrested, and in an interview with detectives, he “admitted to shooting Stuart and leaving her body in the woods,” authorities said.
Stuart’s mother — Elizabeth Stuart — expressed grief over what Blake did.
“To end being shot, crammed into a plastic container … loaded up like an animal … dumped out like trash … is unfathomable,” Elizabeth Stuart said in her victim impact statement, also calling Blake a “rabid, savage beast.”
Blake’s 15-year-old son, who was not named, was arrested and placed in the Clackamas County Juvenile Intake and Assessment Center on charges of abuse of a corpse and tampering with physical evidence, the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office said on Oct. 23. It is unclear if he still faces charges. The sheriff’s office did not announce arresting Blake’s 17-year-old son, though it noted deputies spoke with him.
Law&Crime reached out to the Clackamas County District Attorney’s Office for more information.
