SAHARA DWIGHT - 5 yo (2010) - Roseburg (btwn Medford and Eugene) OR

A 16-year-old boy accused of raping and murdering a 5-year-old Roseburg
girl is set to have his first court appearance on Monday.

Dustin Michael Wallace will be arraigned at 1:15 p.m. Monday in Douglas County
Circuit Court, Douglas County District Attorney Rick Wesenberg said Friday.

Wallace was arrested Friday afternoon in connection to
the death of a 5-year-old girl whom relatives have identified as Sahara
Dwight. Police say they responded to an early morning call Friday from
Sahara's mother, Lydia Dwight.

Lydia Dwight told a 911
dispatcher her daughter was unconscious and not breathing. When
paramedics arrived on scene, they tried to resuscitate the girl but were
not able to.

About noon Friday, Roseburg Police Department
officials announced they had arrested Wallace on suspicion of aggravated
murder, first-degree rape, first-degree sexual abuse and first-degree
unlawful sexual penetration.

He is being held at the Douglas
County Juvenile Detention Center, said Christina McMahan, director of
the Douglas County Juvenile Department. She said she expects a judge to
set his bail at the Monday arraignment.

On Friday afternoon,
Roseburg Police Sgt. Aaron Dunbar said he expects, given Wallace faces
an aggravated murder charge, that the teenager will be held without
bail.

McMahan said Wallace will be prosecuted as an adult. She
said that is because state law requires that juveniles who are 15 or
older and who are accused of Measure 11 crimes (those that are most
serious) be prosecuted as adults.

Despite that, counties have the
option of lodging such offenders in their county jail or their juvenile
facility. Douglas County typically lodges them at the detention center,
McMahan said.

Police have said Wallace was staying at the Elaine
Avenue home where the incident took place. He was among five people in
the residence, all who knew each other, when police arrived. Wallace is
not related to the victim.

On Friday afternoon, Dunbar said
Wallace was staying at the home with his biological father, who is Lydia
Dwight's boyfriend. Dunbar said investigators told him that Wallace
splits his time between staying with his father and with his mother in
Josephine County.

Dunbar declined to provide details of where the
victim was found in the home and whether a weapon was used in the
incident.

At this time, police are not releasing the cause of
death of the victim, although an autopsy is set to be performed.

Asked
if police have heard any motive for the slaying, Dunbar responded, “not
that I'm going to say.”

Although police have not identified the
victim, her uncle, Nathan Meyer, has. On Friday, Roseburg resident Meyer
said he used to baby-sit almost every day for his sister, Lydia Dwight.


He recalled taking 5-year-old Sahara and her two-year-old
brother to places like the river and Wildlife Safari.

He
described his niece as an active, happy, smart little girl who loved to
watch cartoons, ride her scooter and jump on her grandparents'
trampoline.

A teenage boy charged with the rape and murder of a
5-year-old girl told police he suffocated the child after she woke up
while he was sexually abusing her, according to a court document.Dustin
Wallace, 16, told investigators that Sahara Dwight, who was asleep,
jerked away when he started touching her early Friday, according to a
probable cause affidavit filed by Roseburg police Detective Daniel Knott
and released this week.To slow Sahara's struggling, he put his
weight on the girl, placed his hand over her mouth and punched her in
the stomach, Wallace said. He said he then raped the girl after she
stopped moving.The court documents said that after he was done,
he checked the girl's neck for a pulse but found none.The girl's
mother called 911 early Friday to report her daughter was unconscious.
Sahara was pronounced dead at the scene.Wallace lives at the
girl's home with his father and Sahara's mother. He told police that he
entered Sahara's bedroom, which she shared with a brother, after using
the bathroom.Wallace was arrested at the home in Roseburg and
arraigned Monday on charges of rape, murder, sexual abuse and unlawful
penetration. Although Wallace is being tried as an adult, he would not
face the death penalty because he is under 18.Results of the
autopsy performed on the girl have not been released. The affidavit said
blood was found on Sahara's face and lower body.Knott wrote that
the blood on her mouth appeared to be caused by "trauma caused by
pressure being applied to her mouth."Police found a necklace
under the girl's body after it was moved. Knott said it appeared to
match the description of a necklace Wallace said he was missing after
the struggle.Wallace remained held without bail at the Douglas
County Jail. His attorney, Don Scales, was out of his office Wednesday
afternoon and did not immediately return a message.Roseburg is
more than 175 miles south of Portland, Ore.

Roseburg teen indicted in murder, rape of 5-year-old

ROSEBURG, Ore. --After almost four months, a Douglas County Grand Jury has indicted Dustin Michael Wallace, 16, of Roseburg, on murder charges in connection with the death of Sahara Dwight, 5, on July 9.

Boy, 16, to stand trial as an adult in rape, murder of 5-year-old girl
ROSEBURG, Ore. -- After almost four months, a Douglas County Grand Jury has indicted Dustin Michael Wallace, 16, of Roseburg, on murder charges in connection with the death of Sahara Dwight, 5, on July 9.

Wallace was indicted Thursday, by the grand jury on six counts of aggravated murder and rape, among other charges, in connection with the death of Dwight.

Wallace was arrested after the girl was found unconscious at a duplex on Elane Street in west Roseburg, and EMT's were not able to revive her.

Attorney Don Scales was appointed to represent Wallace.

Even though he is 16, will be tried as an adult and is being held in the Douglas County Jail.

Boy, 16, accused of rape, murder of 5-year-old pleads not guilty


Dustin Wallace,
16, of Oklahoma, has pleaded not guilty to the alleged rape and murder
of Sahara Dwight, 5, of Roseburg last July. A trial date has been set
for next year.


Mar 14, 2011



ROSEBURG, Ore. -- Dustin Wallace, 16, of Oklahoma, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Sahara Dwight, 5, of Roseburg last July. A trial date has been set for next year.

Wallace appeared in court Monday morning and entered pleas of not guilty to six counts of aggravated murder, rape and other sex crimes in connection with the incident that happened in July of 2010 at a residence at 937 W. Elaine Ave., just south of the St. Joseph's Catholic Church off Harvard Avenue. The residence is in the HADCO low-income housing project.

Wallace had been staying at the house, where his father was living with the mother of the victim. The judge set a trial date for February 7, 2012, and Wallace gave up his right to a speedy trial.

Defense attorneys say they had been waiting for the state's evidence to be turned over to them. Prosecutors say the case officer's report is ready and they planned to turn it over today.

They say its not unusual for it to take this long to process because of the backlog in the crime lab.

Wallace has been in custody for eight months and will remain there until the trial.

Police originally arrested Wallace on charges of Aggravated Murder, First Degree Rape, First Degree Sexual Abuse and First Degree Unlawful Sexual Penetration.

According to the Roseburg Police Department, just before 5 a.m. that day, officers and EMTs responded to a call about a girl who wasn't conscious or breathing.

Police said that paramedics attempted to resuscitate the child but were unable to revive her. She was declared deceased at the residence.

Funeral notice with picture....
http://www.nrtoday.com/article/20100713/OBITS/100719950

Poster's Note: Brought the obit here as after awhile they get archived and you cannot view them without a fee.


Sahara Grace Dwight
July, 13 2010

Sahara Grace Dwight was carried home in the arms of angels on Friday,
July 9, 2010. She was five years old. She was born on March 11, 2005 in
Roseburg, Oregon. Sahara was a precious princess who enriched the lives
of everyone she encountered. Her smile lit up our hearts. She loved
ballet and now she dances with angels. She loved her garden, swimming
with her mommy and brother and playing with her friends at Head Start.
She is survived by, her mother, Lydia Meyer Dwight and her fiancé Carl;
her father, Tyler Dwight and his fiancée Simone, her brother, Ethan
Dwight and her best friends, Megan, Ada, Taya, Sierra, Sierra, Christian
and Danny. She also leaves her grandparents, Terry and Janet Meyer;
Cindy and Mike Young and Steven W. Dwight. Great grandparents are Rocky
and Delores Smallwood and Doris Raines. Sahara's aunts and uncles
include Hannah Crook and her husband Eric; Isaac Meyer and his wife
Debra; Nathan Meyer; Gabriel Meyer and his wife Sara; Tabatha Dwight;
Bradley Trask; Tison Dwight and his wife Lyndsey; Steven Dwight II and
Austin and Alex Shattenkerk.

Memorial services will be held at
11:00 am, Wednesday, July 14, 2010 at the Garden Valley Christian
Assembly with Curt Crook and Tim Lawrence officiating. Private interment
will be at the Eden Cemetery. A Sahara Dwight Memorial Fund has been
established at any branch of the US Banks. Sahara had a beautiful life
surrounded by love. She left us to soon, but the light of her life was
not diminished by her death, for "There are those of whom this world is
not worthy". She is now perfect. The family invites you to view
Sahara's memorial webpage at www.taylorsfamilychapel.com.

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Roseburg murder trial of Dustin Wallace delayed
HEATHER MORSE


Accused killer Dustin Wallace, 17, speaks with his attorney, Medford's Don Scales, after a hearing at the Douglas County Courthouse Wednesday. Wallace's trial date was moved from February to June 12.


An Oklahoma teenager accused of raping and murdering a 5-year-old Roseburg girl in July 2010 agreed Wednesday to have his trial delayed by several months so his attorneys and prosecutors can continue preparing their cases.

To continue reading this article, a web site subscription is required.

http://www.nrtoday.com/article/20110908/NEWS/110909831

Teen goes on trial in rape and murder of 5-year-old girl

Dustin Wallace
By KPIC NewsPublished: Jun 11, 2012 at 10:17 AM PDT

ROSEBURG, Ore. - A teen accused of raping and killing a 5-year-old girl goes on trial Tuesday.

Dustin Wallace, 18, was 16 at the time of 5-year-old Sahara Dwight's death in July 2010. Wallace is being tried as an adult.

In court documents, police investigating the death said that Wallace admitted to killing Sahara.

He has waived his right to a jury trial, so the case is instead being heard by Judge Randy Garrison.

The trial starts at 9:30 a.m. in courtroom 403 Tuesday. The trial is scheduled to take 3 weeks.

http://www.kcby.com/news/local/Teen-goes-on-trial-in-rape-and-murder-of-5-year-old-girl-158452445.html

The trial of an Oklahoma teen accused of raping and murdering a
5-year-old Roseburg girl in July 2010 began this morning with opening
arguments and testimony from the girl's mother.

Dustin Michael
Wallace, 18, of Hugo, Okla., appeared before Douglas County Circuit
Judge Randy Garrison, whom Wallace decided to let hear the case in lieu
of a jury.

Sitting in the courtroom, he listened as Deputy
District Attorney Shannon Sullivan recounted for the court the events
the state alleges took place the day Sahara Grace Dwight was killed.

Wallace
had flown to Oregon from Oklahoma to visit his father, Carl Wallace,
who was living in the Sutherlin area and dating the victim's mother,
Lydia Sahlberg, whose last name at the time was Dwight.

Sahlberg and Wallace's father had been dating for approximately 18 months, according to Sullivan.

Sahlberg
later testified that she avoided bringing her children around Dustin
Wallace because “he was weird. I had a weird vibe around him.”

However,
on the evening before Sahara's death, she and Wallace's father took
their children to dinner at the home of a friend, and Carl and Dustin
Wallace spent the night at the home of Sahlberg and her children.

That
night, Sahlberg gave Dustin Wallace some videos to watch, while she and
Carl Wallace went to bed. They were later awakened by the sound of
Dustin Wallace by the bedroom door.

During opening arguments,
Sullivan said Dustin Wallace called out, “Sahara. Something is wrong
with Sahah. I think someone broke in.”

Sahlberg testified she rushed in to check her on her daughter and found her unresponsive on her bed.

Wallace's
attorney, Laura Anne Fine, did not dispute the essence of Sullivan's
account, though she contended that the state's claim that Wallace
intended to kill Sahara was wrong.

“Dustin Wallace intended to
sexually assault” Sarah Dwight, Fine said. “He never intended to kill
her. He is not guilty of aggravated murder.”

During the police
investigation, Wallace and his father were asked to come to the Roseburg
Police Department for interviews. It was then that Wallace, who was 16
at the time, allegedly admitted entering the girl's bedroom in the
middle of the night and assaulting and ultimately killing her, according
to court documents.

Wallace's attorney moved to suppress
statements made by Wallace during these interviews on the grounds that
police ignored his invocation of his right to remain silent. The motion
to suppress the evidence was later withdrawn.

Wallace was
arrested after his interviews with police and has been lodged ever since
at the Douglas County Jail. He faces charges of aggravated murder,
first-degree rape, first-degree sex abuse and first-degree unlawful
sexual penetration. If convicted, Wallace could fact at least 30 years
in prison or a maximum sentence of life in prison without the
possibility of parole. The other crimes of which Wallace is accused are
Measure 11 offenses and carry mandatory minimum sentences.

The trial is scheduled to continue through this week and into the next.

http://www.nrtoday.com/article/20120612/NEWS/120619947/1063/NEWS&ParentProfile=1055

It's a damn shame that he doesn't face the death penalty.

Gingernlw wrote:It's a damn shame that he doesn't face the death penalty.

I know...it's horrible what he did to that poor baby. I hope he suffers in prison.

I love it... "he didn't 'intend' on killing her... just sexually assaulting her." Oh ok, that's so much effing better. He didn't mean to snuff her precious life... just her womb and her innocense and her trust and naivete (sp). Makes me so damn sick. And what's sad, unless he gets life without parole, which is the next best thing, he'll be out one day and you know damn well he'll do it again!

babyjustice wrote:

Gingernlw wrote:It's a damn shame that he doesn't face the death penalty.

I know...it's horrible what he did to that poor baby. I hope he suffers in prison.

no doubt he'll suffer in prison - he's very young, and he's a child rapist/killer. he'll find out what it's like. nuff said.

June 13 2012

Tears flow on witness stand in Roseburg murder trial


Sahara Dwight's mother, Lydia Sahlberg,
testifies about the events surrounding her daughter's death two years
ago. Sahlberg took the stand Tuesday in a Douglas County courtroom on
the first day of Dustin Wallace's murder and rape trial.

Courtesy photo

A tearful Lydia Sahlberg recounted the story of her 5-year-old daughter
Sahara's death as she testified at the trial of the girl's accused
killer, 18-year-old Dustin Michael Wallace.

She wasn't the only one whose emotions got the better of her Tuesday.

The defendant himself displayed emotion at times during the first day of
trial, cradling his head in his hand at one point and daubing repeatedly
at his eyes with a tissue. He looked down at his lap as a prosecutor
played a video recorded by Roseburg police Lt. Pat Moore that showed
evidence in Sahlberg's home a few hours after Sahara's death on July 9, 2010.

The emotionally fraught nature of the case was further
demonstrated by the difficulty with which some of the state's witnesses
testified about their memories of the early-morning scene. In addition
to the tearful, often halting testimony of Sahara's mother, a Roseburg
police officer and a Roseburg paramedic broke down on the witness stand
and were forced to pause their testimonies to collect themselves.

Defense attorney Laura Anne Fine challenged the testimony of one of those
witnesses, Roseburg Fire Department paramedic Dallas Sullivan. He
testified that the emotions Wallace exhibited after Sahara's death —
which other emergency responders described as tearful, even
“hysterical,” and punctuated by repeated trips to the sink to vomit —
was actually “very fake (with) no emotion to it whatsoever.”

Fine initially objected to this characterization on the grounds that
Sullivan was not qualified to judge the authenticity of Wallace's
emotions at the time. The objection was overruled by Douglas County
Circuit Judge Randy Garrison, though Fine would return to the issue on cross-examination.

“Your testimony has been very emotional today, hasn't it?” Fine asked Sullivan.

The paramedic agreed that it had been.

After running through the litany of other police and medical workers who had
already testified about the scene they encountered that morning, Fine
told Sullivan, “Not a one of them described (Wallace) as sounding fake.”
She asked Sullivan whether his recollection of events might have been
colored by his emotions about the case, though Sullivan stood by his description.

During her testimony about her daughter's death,
Sahlberg repeated for the court the manner in which Wallace had come to
visit her Roseburg home from Oklahoma. He was in Oregon to see his
father, Carl Wallace, whom she was dating at the time. On the evening
before her daughter's death, she, her two children, and Dustin and Carl
Wallace ate dinner at the home of a friend. All would later spend the
night at Sahlberg's West Elaine Avenue home.

Having put her own children to bed for the night, Sahlberg gave Dustin Wallace some DVDs to
watch before he fell asleep, and then she and his father went to bed.
They awoke early the next morning to the sound of Dustin Wallace
shouting at their door that there had been an intruder and that something was wrong with Sahara.

Sahlberg hurried into the bedroom to check on the girl and found her unresponsive on the bed.

“I started screaming, ‘Carl, come in,' ” Sahlberg testified. “He was
talking with Dustin and (Dustin) kept saying someone hit him on the head.”

Carl Wallace attempted CPR on Sahara and 911 was called.
Sahlberg said Dustin Wallace continued asking if anybody had any aspirin
for his head, even as tensions mounted in the home with the continuing
inability to revive Sahara.

“It just seemed weird that he would be asking somebody something like that” at such a time, Sahlberg said.

The state contends that Wallace actually hit his head while assaulting
Sahara on her lower bunk, striking it on the frame of the bed above him.

During his later questioning by police, Wallace related variations of the
story about an unknown intruder entering the home, according to Deputy
District Attorney Shannon Sullivan. This led police to include a search
of the surrounding area for a possible fleeing suspect in the early stages of the investigation.

In her opening statements Tuesday, Fine took issue with the way police questioned Wallace.

They didn't just question him about his changing stories, Fine said, “they
flat-out accused him” of committing the homicide. She said that once
he'd admitted to the assault he always maintained he hadn't meant to
kill Sahara, he only meant to sexually assault her.

“He did so intentionally, impulsively with absolutely no forethought or regard for
the consequences as it pertained to Sahara and as it pertained to himself,” Fine said.

She said the defendant suffers from Asperger's syndrome and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, which
contribute to his lack of impulse control, mood swings, and difficulty
relating to others. Although he takes medication for these conditions,
Fine said he failed to bring them with him on his visit to Oregon.

The defense admits Wallace committed the assault on Sahara, though Fine
said the killing was unintentional and thus Wallace is not guilty of aggravated murder but of a lesser crime.

The trial continues today with further testimony about the investigation from Moore and other prosecution witnesses.
http://www.nrtoday.com/article/20120613/NEWS/120619920/1063/NEWS&ParentProfile=1055

I have been following this since it happened 2 years ago. I am wondering if Dustins mother came out from Oklahoma to attend the trial. I hold her to blame for a part in this. If Dustin flew out to spend time with his father and forgot to take his medication with him WHY did his mother not notice that the meds were left behind and fedex them to him or call a local Oregon DR so that his father Carl could fill a RX....I truly believe that had Dustin been able to continue his meds this may not have happened...... As a caregiver, I know that if someone misses even 1 dose of a med that is meant for chemical balance, it can interfere with daily living. I wonder too if his father is present during the trial.. What a tragedy

ROSEBURG, Oregon -
A Southern Oregon judge took 10 minutes Friday to find an Oklahoma teenager guilty of raping and murdering a 5-year-old girl.

Dustin Michael Wallace of Hugo had waived a jury trial on charges he killed Sahara Dwight of Roseburg in July 2010.

He didn't deny attacking her but said he didn't
mean to kill her. The cause of death was a form of asphyxia, such as
suffocation or strangulation.

The Roseburg News-Review reported that Judge Randy Garrison handed down the verdict shortly after closing arguments.

Wallace faces a life sentence. The judge could include the possibility of parole after 30 years.

Wallace is younger than 18, so he doesn't face the
death penalty. The Hugo teen was in Oregon visiting his father, who was
living with the girl's mother.
http://www.newson6.com/story/18865687/hugo-teen-found-guilty-of-oregon-rape-murder

This boy will soon learn about rape. They are going to love fresh meat and they love to teach baby rapists and killers a lesson. Repeatedly, daily.

twinkletoes wrote:This boy will soon learn about rape. They are going to love fresh meat and they love to teach baby rapists and killers a lesson. Repeatedly, daily.

SO, if you have followed this crime from the beginning you would see that this kid (I acknowledge his age of 16 at the time of the crime) was on medication for many chemical imbalances....can you really blame a minor whose parents did not make sure he had the proper meds that he needed....knowing that if he missed those meds, that- that would interfere in day to day living....yes, Dustin did what he did, and it was horrific, however, the parents should be held accountable as well since he was running out of his life altering meds.....very sad situation all around.....

And as for "twinkletoes” did you know all the facts behind this before you made judgment of Dustin’s life behind bars...
unsubstatianed claims to make you look like a HERO......denied in my eyes...considering your lame profile of: Supreme Commander of the Universe With Cape AND Tights AND Fancy Headgear... you sound like a douche....OH did I say that out loud....

the defendant suffers from Asperger's syndrome and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, which
contribute to his lack of impulse control, mood swings, and difficulty
relating to others. Although he takes medication for these conditions,
Fine said he failed to bring them with him on his visit to Oregon.

---If this young man was subject to these types of violent outbursts when missing a few days of chemical control perhaps mainstream society was not the place for him to be cared for. There are residency programs that have much better capabilities to handle these cases. Do not misunderstand, I do not suggest that we "lock up all the demented" as was done in the past. However, degrees of control vary greatly and it sounds to me that this convict was always on the edge and this tragedy could have been prevented with more societal intervention.

On another note, "twinkletoes" is absolutely correct in her observation. Those fellow inmates will not care about meds he was or wasn't on. He's not going to survive general population. Perhaps a better solution would be a medical institution for life.
Either way, you have insulted one of our most stalwart and dedicated members. Not the best way to gain empathy to your cause. I can assure you, while opinionated and ferociously so, she is not a feminine hygiene product.

And I could be wrong, but I think the headings under our names are a generic by product of this site and is based on the amount of posts you have... am I wrong Tom?
And I agree with Tom whole heartedly... if he was so jacked up that he's capable of this kind of violence without his medication then an institution would have been better for him. That defense is practically meritless. There are a lot of people out there on the Autism spectrum and with ADHD (they are often co-morbid) and they are not capable of this kind of violence simply because their impulse control is lacking.

Regardless of the medication he was or was not on he clearly stated that he wanted to sexually assault her. This is a man with no feelings. He should have been castrated and hung with piano wire. At least the little angel will get some justice. But the thought of him being out in 20-30 years to do this again just disturbs me no end.

William

my son is bi-polar and has adhd. he take meds and goes to regular therapy appts. we're lucky in the sense, that he hasnt shown any violent tendencies and he does realize he has issues and willingly takes his med and goes to every appt. so i feel that we're lucky in these respects. having aspergers does not qualify for retardation and unrealistic, unfounded excuses. he mad the decision to rape this child and the decision to kill her to keep her from telling on him. he crossed the line with this and should b punished severely for this. this little girls dying should not b in vane. i do feel the parents should have been more vigilant in making sure that he got the help/ and or meds he needed. and if they refused him care, his meds or therapy, etc they should be held criminally responsible, but the blame for the actions of Dustin still is to bear. im sorry, but i dont accept diminished mental capacity in any form for any illegal action especially when a child is murdered. if the courts still use this excuse to give lighter sentences to child murderers then we r failing our victimized children.

I think the headings under our names are a generic by product of this
site and is based on the amount of posts you have... am I wrong Tom?

---You are correct! Several years (Sheesh it HAS been that long) ago when we began, we assigned "titles" to recognize various levels of posting regularity. The Pizza Delivery Person and Squirrel Tracker are examples that actually came from some of Caylee's "mother's" excuses used early on in the investigation of the child's' disappearance. We do not envision ourselves as Superheroes; it's merely a title given to those who have been here the longest and are most prolific with their posts.
Now I must unfurl my cape and fly to the next room...just kidding...

TomTerrific0420 wrote:

I think the headings under our names are a generic by product of this
site and is based on the amount of posts you have... am I wrong Tom?

---You are correct! Several years (Sheesh it HAS been that long) ago when we began, we assigned "titles" to recognize various levels of posting regularity. The Pizza Delivery Person and Squirrel Tracker are examples that actually came from some of Caylee's "mother's" excuses used early on in the investigation of the child's' disappearance. We do not envision ourselves as Superheroes; it's merely a title given to those who have been here the longest and are most prolific with their posts.
Now I must unfurl my cape and fly to the next room...just kidding...

Wow Tom Terrific , I had forgotten about that.

Who would ever had predicted the outcome of Caylee's murder or that we would still be here lo these many years later. .

I love my cape.