WALLOWA STATE PARK, Oregon, Aug. 16, 2022 (Gephardt Daily) — The body of Michael Grant Asman, who was wanted after the shooting death of his girlfriend in Heber City, Utah, reportedly has been found in Oregon, near a pickup truck he owned.
Law enforcement agencies, including the U.S. Marshals, had been looking for Asman, 35, after the death of Julie Burns. An arrest warrant was issued on a charge of first-degree murder shortly after the crime.
Asman’s pickup was found at 12:45 p.m. Sunday, by a park ranger, on Hurricane Creek Road in Wallowa State Park near Joseph, Oregon. The truck’s license plate had been entered into a police database that linked it to the Utah murder.
“The U.S. Forest Service Office immediately notified the Wallowa County Sheriff’s Office, and at 1:30 p.m. a responding sheriff’s deputy located the deceased body within 100 yards of the vehicle,” says a statement issued by Detective Joshua Weishar, Heber City Police Department.
“The medical examiner’s office will confirm the cause of death and make positive identification of the body.”
The initial cause of death appears to be a bullet wound to the head, an update confirmed Tuesday afternoon.
That update also contained a photo, below, of Asman’s truck where it was found.
Heber City murder
Thirty-six-year-old Burns was found dead on July 14 of this year in her Heber City residence, where she lived with her daughters, ages 6 and 10.
Prior to the murder, Asman was arrested on June 12 for domestic assault.
“The victim of the incident has made statements that she is afraid Michael will kill her by either beating her to death or shooting her,” Asman’s probable cause statement says, adding the victim told officers she had been punched the previous week and suffered a concussion and a wound requiring stitches.
“The victim claimed she lied to hospital staff about what really happened because she
believed if she told it was domestic violence then Michael would kill her,” the June statement says.
Victims of domestic violence are urged to call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233.
