Oregon Man Tracked Down His Ex-Girlfriend and Set Fire to the Home of her Boss
A 42-year-old man who tracked down his ex-girlfriend when she moved to Portland is facing multiple attempted murder charges after setting fire to her boss’s house.
Eric Alexander (42) started sending threatening emails to his ex-girlfriend’s boss saying he would ‘cut up her friends,’ says a police document in which probable cause for search warrants and an arrest was outlined.
After Breaking Up the Woman Left California for Oregon
His former girlfriend told police that she had lived with Alexander in California for 18 months before moving to Oregon.
He followed her a few months later and repeatedly asked that they meet. She conceded on one occasion, after which she told him she would not see him anymore.
Eric Alexander Had a Troubled Background
The woman told police that Alexander had a troubled background. He had suffered a traumatic brain injury and had undergone surgery for brain cancer 10 years earlier. The woman believed he may not have had access to his medication after moving to Oregon.
The woman also told police that Alexander had tried to commit suicide on several occasions.
She told police that Alexander began threatening to kill her and her friends on social media after she had refused to meet with him again.
Her request for a protection order was granted by a judge on October 18. The following day, a friend of the woman’s told police how Alexander had described how he was going to ‘split’ his ex-girlfriend’s throat.
Police then arrested Alexander for harassment and stalking. In court records, the police said it was clear that Alexander was suffering from a mental health crisis and posed a threat to himself and others.
Portland Fire and Rescue were summoned on November 7 to a home in Southeast Salmon Street which was on fire.
The home belonged to the ex-girlfriend’s boss who was asleep in the house with her husband and two children. Later that day, the ex-girlfriend and her boss received emails from Alexander, one of which stated that he had been ‘caught while setting the house on fire.’
The fire was restricted to the porch, causing damage of $50,000.
Alexander was arrested the following day and charged with five counts of attempted murder, one charge of criminal mischief, three charges of arson, and two charges each of stalking, menacing, and telephonic harassment.
His arraignment is scheduled for November 20.