McGuffin v. Dannels

• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Oregon
• Writing for the Court: KASUBHAI, United States District Judge
• Citation: 790 F.Supp.3d 1079
• Docket Number: Case No. 6:20-cv-01163-MTK (Lead Case),Case No. 3:21-cv-01719-MTK (Trailing Case)
• Decision Date: 02 July 2025
• Parties: Nicholas James MCGUFFIN, as an individual and as guardian ad litem, on behalf of S.M., a minor, Plaintiffs, v. Mark DANNELS, et al., Defendants. Nicholas James McGuffin, as an individual and as guardian ad litem, on behalf of S.M., a minor, Plaintiffs, v. Oregon State Police, Defendant.

790 F.Supp.3d 1079

Nicholas James MCGUFFIN, as an individual and as guardian ad litem,on behalf of S.M., a minor, Plaintiffs, v. Mark DANNELS, et al., Defendants.

Nicholas James McGuffin, as an individual and as guardian ad litem,on behalf of S.M., a minor, Plaintiffs, v. Oregon State Police, Defendant.

Case No. 6:20-cv-01163-MTK (Lead Case)

Case No. 3:21-cv-01719-MTK (Trailing Case)

United States District Court, D. Oregon

Signed July 2, 2025

Andrew C. Lauersdorf, Janis C. Puracal, Maloney Lauersdorf Reiner PC, Portland, OR, David B. Owens, Pro Hac Vice, Loevy & Loevy C/O, Seattle, WA, for Plaintiff Nicholas James McGuffin in No. 6:20-cv-01163.

Andrew C. Lauersdorf, Janis C. Puracal, Maloney Lauersdorf Reiner PC, Portland, OR, for Plaintiff S. M. in No. 6:20-cv-01163.

Robert E. Franz, Jr., Sarah Rose Henderson, Franz & Henderson, Springfield, OR, for Defendants Mark Dannels, Kris Karcher, Raymond McNeely, Kip Oswald, Michael Reaves, Sean Sanborn, Eric Schweninger, Chris Webley, Craig Zanni, David Zavala, Joel D. Shapiro, City of Coquille, Coos County in No. 6:20-cv-01163.

Denise G. Fjordbeck, State of Oregon, Department of Justice, Salem, OR, Todd E. Marshall, Oregon Department of Justice, Trial Division, CL, Salem, OR, Jesse B. Davis, Kristen Hoffmeyer, Oregon Department of Justice, Trial Division, Portland, OR, for Defendants Susan Horman, Mary Krings, John Riddle, Kathy Wilcox in No. 6:20-cv-01163.

Eric Scott DeFreest, Luvaas Cobb, Eugene, OR, for Defendant Richard Walter in No. 6:20-cv-01163.

Anthony R. Scisciani III, Lisa E. Lear, Rachel Jones, HWS Law Group, Portland, OR, Meredith Sawyer, Pro Hac Vice, Kelsey Lynn Shewbert, HWS Law Group, Seattle, WA, for Defendant Vidocq Society in No. 6:20-cv-01163.

Andrew C. Lauersdorf, Janis C. Puracal, Christine A. Webb, Maloney Lauersdorf Reiner PC, Portland, OR, David B. Owens, Loevy & Loevy C/O, Seattle, WA, for Plaintiffs in No. 3:21-cv-01719.

Denise G. Fjordbeck, State of Oregon, Department of Justice, Salem, OR, Jesse B. Davis, Kristen Hoffmeyer, Oregon Department of Justice, Trial Division, Portland, OR, for Defendant in No. 3:21-cv-01719.

OPINION AND ORDER

KASUBHAI, United States District Judge:

Plaintiff Nicholas James McGuffin ("McGuffin"), as an individual and as guardian ad litem on behalf of his minor daughter, S.M. ("Plaintiffs"), bring this civil rights action arising out of McGuffin's wrongful conviction for manslaughter. Second Am. Compl. ("SAC"), ECF No. 143. Before the Court is Defendants' Mark Dannels, Kris Karcher, Raymond McNeely, Kip Oswald, Michael Reaves, Sean Sanborn, Eric Schwenninger, Chris Webley, Craig Zanni, David Zavala, City of Coquille, Coos County, Oregon, and the Estate of David E. Hall ("Municipal Defendants") Motion for Summary Judgment. Mot. for Summ. J. "Defs.' Mot.," ECF No. 281. For the reasons explained below, the Municipal Defendants' Motion is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part.

BACKGROUND

On June 28, 2000, Leah Freeman ("Freeman") went missing. Her body was discovered several weeks later, and her death was declared a homicide. The case went cold but eleven years later, Freeman's boyfriend, McGuffin, was convicted of manslaughter for her death. A court granted him post-conviction relief for the State's failure to disclose exculpatory DNA evidence, and other reasons as well. After serving more than nine years of a ten-year prison sentence, McGuffin was released from prison and all charges were dismissed. McGuffin alleges that the Municipal Defendants and others conspired against him by fabricating, suppressing, and withholding evidence.

I. Freeman's Disappearance

McGuffin grew up in Coquille, Oregon, and attended Coquille High School, where he and Freeman met and began dating. In the summer of 2000, Freeman was fifteen years old and had recently finished her freshman year of high school; McGuffin was eighteen years old and had just graduated.

On June 28, 2000, at around 7:00 p.m., McGuffin dropped off Freeman at the home of Freeman's friend, Cherie Mitchell. McGuffin was driving his blue Mustang. McGuffin Depo at 106:10-25, ECF No. 330-10 at 12. In deposition for this lawsuit, McGuffin testified that this was the last time that he ever saw, spoke with, or interacted with Freeman. McGuffin Depo. at 58:25-71:22, 95:23-104:4, 190:19-195:14, ECF No. 330-10 at 5-8, 9-11, 16-17.

McGuffin was planning to return to Mitchell's house to pick up Freeman at 9:00 p.m. McGuffin Depo. at 58:25-59:4, 106:17-25, 134:19-22, ECF No. 330-10 at 5, 12-13. However, sometime before 9:00 p.m., Freeman and Mitchell got into an argument and Freeman left Mitchell's house on foot. Many people saw Freeman walking alone toward the high school between roughly 9:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Sometime between 9:15 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., Freeman was seen standing by herself across the street from the high school, between the cemetery and the gas station. McGuffin Crim. Trial Transcript at 88:22-90:8, 94:17-19, ECF No. 284-1 at 396.

At "around 9:08" p.m., McGuffin arrived back at the Mitchell's to pick up Leah, but she had already left on foot. 2000 Grand Jury Transcript (Mitchell) at 9:1, ECF No. 286-13 at 10; McGuffin Crim. Trial Transcript at 74:5-10, ECF No. 284-1 at 604. McGuffin then began searching for Freeman. Many people saw or interacted with McGuffin during his search, including Freeman's mother, sister, and friends, as well as McGuffin's family and friends.¹ At around 10:00 p.m., McGuffin went back to Mitchell's house to see if Freeman had returned, but she was not there. McGuffin borrowed Mitchell's phone and called Freeman's mother to tell her that he was looking for Freeman. Criminal Trial Transcript (Courtright) at D3 56:2-12, ECF No. 284-1 at 364. Freeman's mother told McGuffin that Freeman had not come home and McGuffin responded that he would continue looking for her.

McGuffin drove around for several hours looking for Freeman. The parties cite evidence creating a dispute about whether McGuffin was driving his blue Mustang, or whether he switched to his parents' red Thunderbird, discussed in more detail below.

McGuffin's Mustang also had a gas leak, and he could only put a few gallons in the tank at a time. Sometime after midnight, he asked a friend, Kristen Steinhoff, to drive him around to continue looking for Freeman. McGuffin was in Steinhoff's bedroom waiting for her to get ready and they started kissing. McGuffin Depo. at 105:65-10, ECF No. 330-10 at 11. They got undressed but did not have sex. McGuffin Depo. at 105:11-106:6, ECF No. 330-10 at 11-12. McGuffin testified in deposition that he told Steinhoff that he "[c]ouldn't do this to Leah," and so they stopped and got dressed. McGuffin Depo. at 106:3-6, ECF No. 330-10 at 12. Steinhoff then borrowed her mother's boyfriend's purple Kia and drove McGuffin around town looking for Freeman. After searching for a while, McGuffin returned to his Mustang.

In the early morning hours of June 29, 2000, McGuffin drove past Freeman's house and thought that he saw a light on in Freeman's upstairs bedroom. Believing that she had returned home, McGuffin drove away and arrived to his home around 2:30 a.m. Kathy McGuffin Deposition at 17:20-18:8, 22:18-23:6, ECF No. 330-21.

II. The Original Investigation

On June 29, 2000, at around 7:30 a.m., Freeman's mother called McGuffin and reported that Freeman had not come home last night. McGuffin joined Freeman's sister to search for Freeman. McGuffin then went with Freeman's sister and Freeman's mother to the Coquille Police Department ("CPD") to report that Freeman was missing. Chief of Police, Defendant Reaves, initially decided that Leah must have been a runaway and his search was limited to driving around town. 2016-05-31 Letter from DA Frasier to Reim at 2, ECF No. 330-64. A missing person investigation was started, which then became a homicide investigation. The Original Investigation was conducted by Municipal Defendants Reaves, Hall, McInnes,² and Zavala, of the City of Coquille Police Department ("CPD") as well as Downing, Oswald, and Zanni of the Coos County Sheriff's Office, Karcher of the Office of the Coos County Medical Examiner, as well as others (collectively, the "Original Investigating Officers").

Defendant Reaves appointed CPD officer Hall to lead the Original Investigation. Michael Reaves Depo. at 54:12-58:18, ECF No. 330-54. Defendant Hall³ had never worked a major crime investigation or murder case, and by his own account he lacked the necessary training to lead the Freeman investigation. Frasier PCR Deposition at 21:12-25:1, ECF No. 330-62; Schwenninger Case Notes at 3, ECF No. 330-48 at 11.

On the night of Freeman's disappearance, at around 11:30 p.m., a passerby had found a shoe in the road near the cemetery. Criminal Trial Transcript D5 127:16-132:17, ECF. No. 284-1 at 920-25. He thought that the shoe belonged to one of his kids, so he brought it home. However, a few days later, after hearing that there was a missing girl, he brought the shoe to the police. The police examined the shoe and determined that it was Freeman's right shoe ("right (cemetery) shoe"). 2000-07-17 OSP Lab Wilcox Report at 20, ECF No. 296 at 181.

On July 5, 2000, Coos County Sheriff's Deputy, Defendant Kip Oswald, was driving on Hudson Ridge, a remote forested area where teenagers were known to party, when he discovered what was later determined to be Freeman's left shoe ("left (Hudson Ridge) shoe"). Criminal Trial Transcript D5 140:11-144:13, ECF No. 284-1 at 934-38. Hudson Ridge was approximately ten miles from the cemetery where Freeman was last seen alive and where her right shoe was found. Id. Defendant Oswald picked up the left (Hudson Ridge) shoe without wearing gloves or preserving the scene. He later delivered the shoe to the CPD. Id. The crime lab determined that the left (Hudson Ridge) shoe had bloodstains on it. 2000-07-17 OSP Lab Wilcox Report at 1, ECF No. 296 at 179; 2001-10-03 FSS Lab Report at 15, ECF No. 330-63. McGuffin's DNA was not found on the shoe....