53-year-old Jack Waldrop has a history of violence. In March 1998, he strangled and beat his then-girlfriend, Angela Walker, to death. A jury found him guilty of manslaughter and he served 21 years in an Oregon state prison for the crime.
After being released from prison, Waldrop made his way to Washington and began to date a 63-year-old woman he now stands accused of kidnapping and assaulting in Benton County on March 11, 2022. She escaped by locking herself in a gas station bathroom after which he fled.
Four days after her escape, Mendocino County Sheriff’s deputies were patrolling Sherwood Road near Willits when they noticed a pickup truck idling on the shoulder, protruding into the southbound lane.
Little did deputies know, the driver who drove away and led Mendocino County lawmen on a twelve-mile vehicle pursuit was Waldrop, the convicted murderer who had allegedly assaulted and kidnapped his girlfriend just days before.
Lewiston Tribune reporter Cameron Probert and his article, “He served 20 years for killing his girlfriend. Now he’s charged with a Tri-Cities kidnapping,” provided a comprehensive overview of the charges Waldrop currently faces and the 1998 murder he spent two decades in prison for committing. .
According to the article, Waldrop and his 63-year-old girlfriend had broken up. She served a protection order against him. On March 11, he “offered to give his ex a ride to run an errand.” At some point during that ride, she overheard a conversation Waldrop was having with someone on the phone and chose to get out of his truck and head towards a nearby bus stop. Waldrop followed her, insisted she get back in his truck, and when she did, he began getting physically violent with her.
He allegedly told the woman, “She was going to die today.” According to Probert’s account, the two fought, she fell out of the truck, and Waldrop stomped on her, pulled her hair, and punched her back. Then, while driving from Yakima to Snoqualmie Pass, Waldrop continued to threaten and backhand her.
They eventually stopped at an Ellensburg gas station, where he ordered her to get herself cleaned up. Instead, she took the opportunity to lock herself in the bathroom. When Waldrop began to yell for her, other shoppers intervened and he drove away.
Police were contacted and the 63-year-old was hospitalized when staff found she had “two broken ribs and a fractured sternum.”
Four days after this event, MCSO managed to capture Waldrop on the evening of March 14 after he fled from deputies during an extended pursuit. According to the MCSO, he exhibited symptoms of alcohol intoxication and a warrant check found he had a nationwide extradition felony arrest warrant from the State of Washington for first-degree kidnapping.
Now Waldrop is back in Washington state where he pled not guilty to the kidnapping and assault charges in a Benton County Superior Court this last week. Waldrop’s trial will begin on June 13.
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