BUTTE COUNTY, Calif. (KTXL) — Ryan Scott Blinston of Oroville was found guilty of murdering three people by a Butte County jury, the Tehama County District Attorney’s Office said.
According to the DA, Blinston, who worked as a tree trimmer, would return to a client’s home and slash their throats. He was also suspected of killing an acquaintance of his and setting her car on fire.
The DA said Blinston was arrested in June of 2020 when officers tracked him down to a motorhome in Brush Creek.
According to the DA, Blinston had been trying to kill a 50-year-old man when officers went to arrest him. He left the scene and tried to escape, but officers were able to find and arrest him. He was then booked into the Butte County Jail, where he stayed as prosecutors built a case against him.
Because the killings took place in both Butte and Tehama counties, the Tehama County DA’s office said its DA and the Butte County district attorney decided to combine the charges and have a Butte County jury.
For killing Loreen Severs, 88, Sandra George, 82, and Vicky Cline, 57, Blinston will face life without parole, the DA said. Blinston was also convicted on two counts of attempted murder, arson and resisting arrest.
Blinston was sentenced on Wednesday.