Overview
- Prosecutors say Tobias Malone was originally charged in June with two counts of murder and evidence tampering after the fatal shootings of 29-year-old Vienna Peoples and her 14-year-old daughter in a Portland neighborhood home.
- A Jefferson County grand jury on July 30 added one count of rape of a child under 12, one count of sexual abuse of a child under 12, one count of promoting a sexual performance by a minor under 16, and 20 counts of possession of child sexual abuse material involving a child under 12.
- Court records report Malone admitted to the shootings and told police he destroyed the victim’s cellphone and dismantled and discarded the firearm before disposing of it.
- At an arraignment on Aug. 3 Malone pleaded not guilty, will be appointed a public defender, has no-contact orders in place, and remains held on a $1 million cash bond with further hearings set in the pretrial schedule.
- The expanded indictment broadens potential penalties and investigative avenues for prosecutors and will require additional forensic review of digital evidence while family members and neighbors continue to deal with the deaths and the loss of a household primary caregiver.