November 16, 2020
PORTLAND, Ore. – Today, Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt announced that 38-year-old Angela McCraw-Hester received a sentence of life imprisonment with the possibility of parole after serving 25 years for causing the death of 34-year-old Annastasia Hester.
Ms. Hester’s brother, Nathaniel Holmes, provided an impact statement read by his attorney with the Oregon Crime Victims Law Center. In part the impact statement read:
“It goes without saying that the murder of Annastasia Hester has affected her family to a great and severe extent. The emotional and psychological turmoil has been truly devastating. … I won’t grow old with my sister and reminisce. She won’t see her daughter grow up, get married, have kids or be a grandmother.”
By pleading guilty to one count of murder in the second degree, McCraw-Hester admitted that she entered Ms. Hester’s apartment and unlawfully and intentionally caused her death.
“This case involves a home invasion; and in that home invasion, in the darkness of night, Annastasia Hester endured devastating brutality that no one would want to imagine let alone endure. But, throughout this entire process, no one provided a bigger voice for Annastasia than her family,” said Multnomah County Senior Deputy District Attorney David Hannon, who prosecuted the case with Multnomah County Senior Deputy District Attorney Brian Davidson.
This investigation started on June 10, 2016 when Gresham Police and the East Multnomah County Major Crimes Team responded to Ms. Hester’s apartment in the 100 block of Southwest Eastman Parkway.
Law enforcement arrived and located Ms. Hester inside the residence. The Oregon State Medical Examiner’s Office conducted an autopsy and determined Ms. Hester died of homicidal violence and noted her body had more than 60 stab wounds.
Based on the evidence developed during this investigation, law enforcement concluded McCraw-Hester likely left her residence – which she shared with Ms. Hester’s ex-husband – in the 12000 block of Southeast Ramona Street in Portland, Oregon and drove to Ms. Hester’s apartment complex in Gresham.
Once she arrived at the apartment complex, McCraw-Hester likely removed a window-mounted air conditioning unit and a cinder block to enter Ms. Hester’s ground-floor apartment. Multiple neighbors told investigators they heard sounds of a disturbance coming from Ms. Hester’s apartment, or in the immediate vicinity.
At approximately 3 a.m. on June 10, 2016, Ms. Hester called 9-1-1.
Law enforcement arrived and located the window-mounted air conditioning unit dangling from Ms. Hester’s apartment. Investigators located a bloody footwear impression inside Ms. Hester’s apartment. The Oregon State Police (OSP) Crime Lab conducted analysis to determine the size and style of the impression. By identifying unique characteristics of the impression, law enforcement concluded the bloody impression came from a women’s boot and identified the retail store that sold the specific product.
The Gresham Police Department later found evidence that showed a purchase was made in 2015 at the retailer identified by investigators on a store account registered to McCraw-Hester.
The product purchased matched the style and manufacturer from the analysis on the bloody impression found at the crime scene.
Additionally, DNA belonging to McCraw-Hester was found inside Ms. Hester’s apartment complex, specifically on the kitchen knife block. Investigators collected video evidence that also showed McCraw-Hester traveling to and from Ms. Hester’s apartment in Gresham.
On November 15, 2017, the United States Marshals Service located and arrested McCraw-Hester.
McCraw-Hester’s husband, Matthew Hester, remains in custody pending trial on charges of conspiracy to commit murder, solicitation to commit murder and hindering prosecution.
Law enforcement located and arrested him in 2019 in Benton County, Idaho.
Matthew Hester and Annastasia Hester were married for approximately five years before getting a divorce. The court has not set a trial date for Matthew Hester.
No additional information can be released by the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office at this time.
A charging document is only an accusation of a crime. Matthew Hester is innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office recognizes the Gresham Police Department, the Multnomah County East Major Crimes Team, the Oregon State Police and the Oregon State Police Crime Lab for their dedicated efforts investigating this case.
The East Multnomah County Major Crimes Team consists of representatives from the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office, the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office, the Gresham Police Department, the Oregon State Police and the Port of Portland.
This case is being litigated by Multnomah County Senior Deputy District Attorneys Brian Davidson and David Hannon.
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Media Contact:
Brent Weisberg, Communications Director
Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office
Email: Brent.Weisberg@mcda.us