In the small town of Pendleton, Oregon, two women from the same church were attacked. On August 14, 2012, Amy Jane Brandhagen was stabbed to death at the Travelodge motel where she worked. She was 19 years old. Almost exactly one year later, on August 9, 2013, Karen Lange – another member of the Pendleton Methodist Church – was brutally assaulted and left for dead in a park.
Police found the suspect in both crimes, Lukah Probzeb Chang aka Danny Wu, hiding in a ceiling in a stairwell in the Pendleton Convention Center. According to the Associated Press, Chang is the son of Christian missionaries. He grew up in North Carolina where he was home-schooled before joining the Marine Corps. When the 23-year-old confessed, Chang told police “he just wanted to feel what it was like to kill someone.” And when he attacked Lange, he “wanted to commemorate the anniversary of the first woman’s death.” Chang was sentenced to 35-years-to-life in prison for murder and attempted murder. Dateline NBC will air its investigation of the murder and attack on August 28 at 10pm.
