Adeena M. Copell

A Clatsop County couple is accused of killing a Newport man and stealing his motor home and car before fleeing to Arizona.

Christian J. Wilkins, 37, and Adeena M. Copell, 40, are charged with murder for allegedly killing 71-year-old Howard Daniel Vinge, whose body was found Friday wrapped in material off U.S. Highway 30, about 3 miles east of Astoria.

Vinge apparently died from blunt force trauma to the back of his head. After the alleged murder on Sept. 27, Wilkins and Copell reportedly stole Vinge’s white 1993 Allegro Bay motor home with a dark maroon 1991 Lincoln Continental attached on a trailer.

The motor home was discovered abandoned about 12 miles east of Seaside at the intersection of U.S. Highway 26 and U.S. Highway 53.

Wilkins and Copell were found Tuesday near Flagstaff, Arizona, driving the Lincoln Continental they allegedly stole from Vinge. Arizona troopers stopped the car and arrested the couple for unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.

The couple had been suspects in the murder for several days, according to the Clatsop County Major Crime Team. A Sheriff’s Office detective and Seaside Police detective flew to Arizona to gather more information.

Wilkins and Copell were arraigned on the stolen vehicle charges in Justice Court in Flagstaff, Arizona, Wednesday morning. Their bail was set at $150,000 each and an extradition hearing is scheduled for Friday.

Clatsop County District Attorney Josh Marquis said he filed the murder and stolen vehicle charges Wednesday. The case will proceed before a grand jury in Circuit Court, he said.

If indicted, Marquis said, the two suspects will be extradited.

Both Copell and Wilkins had recently struck up a relationship with Vinge prior to the murder, according to investigators.

While disposing of Vinge’s body, investigators said, the suspects encountered a man and woman in a black car. The suspects were spotted during daylight hours at the turnout east of mile marker 92 on U.S. Highway 30, near Fernhill Road east of Astoria.

Neither Copell or Wilkins have a criminal history in Clatsop County. Wilkins, an Astoria resident at the time, was charged with driving while suspended and uninsured in March. Wilkins and Copell each have been in the Washington state court system. Wilkins faced theft charges in Pacific County in December, for example.