Jeremy Christian, the man who stabbed and killed two men and injured a third on a TriMet MAX train in 2017, was sentenced Wednesday to two life sentences in prison without the possibility of parole.
“I believe that you are a creative, thoughtful person, intelligent, that you desire to learn and grow,” Multnomah County Circuit Court Judge Cheryl Albrecht said to Christian before her sentencing decision.
“I hope one day you are able to accept responsibility for the grievous loss that you caused.”
Christian will serve two consecutive life sentences for the murders of Taliesin Namkai-Meche and Ricky Best, as well as approximately 26 additional years in prison for other crimes including attempted murder, intimidation and assault.
Christian was originally scheduled to be sentenced Tuesday, but a full day of victim impact statements and technical difficulties delayed proceedings into Wednesday morning.
More than 10 people gave statements Tuesday about how Christian impacted their lives, or their families’ lives, including Demetria Hester, a Black woman Christian assaulted the night prior to the MAX attack.
Hester reflected on the assault, in which she maced Christian and he threw a half-full Gatorade bottle at her eye after going on a racist rant.
She also spoke on the broader implications of white supremacy, police brutality and violence against people of color.
Her statements ended with an outburst from Christian in which he stood up, took off his mask and yelled threats including: “I should’ve killed you, bitch.”
Christian was escorted out of the courtroom by Multnomah County sheriff’s deputies and remained in a separate room to view and listen to victim impact statements via video.
He was again placed in that separate room Wednesday to watch Micah Fletcher’s statements remotely.
Fletcher, the man who survived Christian’s attack on the MAX train, was the last person to give a statement Wednesday morning.
He said Christian’s attack has affected his life in numerous ways, including becoming dependent on alcohol for nine months following the 2017 events on the MAX train.
He said he faces fear and anxiety in everyday interactions. For example, he said, a few weeks ago, his partner was making breakfast and using a butter knife on toast.
Fletcher said he grabbed her arm and didn’t even realize he was doing so.
“This is in every aspect of my life. There is not a room I can enter without scanning it first to see who is the person who could hurt me,” Fletcher said.
“I basically spend the first 30 seconds of every event I enter trying to figure out how easily I could die.”
Fletcher directed some of his statements to Christian, who was seated in a separate room, watching proceedings via video.
