A jury in Clackamas County has found 72-year-old Michel Fournier guilty of killing his estranged wife, Susan Lane-Fournier, and he has been sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 25 years.
Authorities said Lane-Fournier was reported missing in November 2024 and was later discovered dead near Highway 26 in Welches, about a week after she disappeared. Investigators said she had been shot three times in the head, neck and chest, and her body was hidden under a tarp in a wooded area roughly 350 yards from the couple’s home.
Prosecutors said the killing happened on Nov. 22, 2024, only weeks after Lane-Fournier had signed divorce papers ending the marriage.
During the trial, prosecutors described Fournier’s actions as deliberate and planned. They told jurors he had purchased 24-inch zip ties days before the killing, some of which were later found on the bodies of Lane-Fournier’s two dogs. Investigators said the dogs had been strangled and dumped in a different location.
Defense attorneys argued the case relied heavily on investigators’ assumptions about Fournier’s guilt and criticized how detectives conducted their interrogation.
After hearing closing arguments, the jury began deliberations Thursday morning and returned a verdict around 1 p.m., finding Fournier guilty of second-degree murder and unlawful use of a weapon.
The five-year sentence for the weapons charge will run at the same time as the life sentence.
Fournier will face a separate trial over the deaths of the dogs because their bodies were found in Multnomah County. He has been charged with two counts of first-degree aggravated animal abuse.
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