Man deemed ‘guilty except for insanity’ for arson deaths of grandmother and her son

Isabelle Maggard

August 26, 2026

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Justin Ray Carr, 30, will avoid prison and be placed in custody of the state’s Psychiatric Security Review Board.

A 30-year-old man found guilty of murder on Friday, Aug. 21, will avoid serving prison time after being deemed insane for setting a deadly fire at a Springfield mobile home park that claimed the lives of two family members.

Carr will be committed to the Oregon State Hospital and placed under the supervision of the state’s Psychiatric Security Review Board.

According to court records, Carr gave up his right to a jury trial, with his defense attorney and prosecutors agreeing on the facts surrounding a fire he set on July 9, 2025, at the Santiago mobile home park on the 5300 block of Main Street in Springfield.

Carr’s 85-year-old grandmother, Elizabeth Rae Boggs, was injured in the blaze and subsequently died. Her son, 64-year-old Michael Gary Boggs, was discovered dead inside the home that was engulfed in flames.

Lane County Circuit Judge Charles Zennaché ruled that Carr was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, “except for insanity,” of two counts of first-degree murder and first-degree arson.

Under Zennaché’s order, Carr is to remain in custody “for life” under the Psychiatric Security Review Board’s jurisdiction.

Under the board’s oversight, he may receive conditional release to a secure residential treatment facility or independent living. As of Monday morning, Carr remained in custody at the Lane County Jail.

Zennaché’s commitment order stated that, based on a May exam by a psychologist, Carr “is affected by a qualifying mental disorder,” schizophrenia.

Plea negotiations with prosecutors involved dismissal of a charge of second-degree assault in connection with an alleged Aug. 14, 2025, attempted jail assault.

Additional counts of second-degree murder and unlawful manufacture of a destructive device were also dismissed.

A police affidavit stated that investigators found two glass bottles with cloth in them inside the mobile home where Carr lived and where the fire took place, with the court filing describing the bottles as Molotov cocktails. Springfield police said automated license plate recognition cameras tracked Carr into Washington, where Hoquiam and Aberdeen police located his vehicle and took him into custody July 10, 2025.

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