Peter Zito, Jr. and Donald Bartron were students of Aloha High School in Aloha, Washington County, Oregon, United States. They were in the process of dropping out when they were killed in October 3, 1974.
When Aloha High School was established in 1968, its students used Merle Davies Elementary School and parts of Beaverton High School. In 1970, the Aloha High School building held its first classes while the building was still incomplete.
Zito is Peter Zito, Sr. and Faith Zito‘s son. Peter Jr. has two sisters namely Barbara Zito and Stephanie Zito.
Peter Jr. was 18 while Bartron was 16. They were friends.
At around 4:00 a.m. on October 3, 1974, Peter Jr. and Bartron were fatally shot while Peter Jr.’s 1956 Oldsmobile was parked outside the Oak Hills Recreation Center in Beaverton, Washington County. The car had its hood popped open as Barton had been trying to fix the car under a street light in the recreation center’s parking lot.
Barton, who was shot in the back of the head, was slumped inside the engine compartment. Peter Jr. was shot in the front of the head and his body was found next to his car.
A .22 caliber gun was used to shoot Peter Jr. and Bartron multiple times. Later that day, Washington County Sheriff’s Office detectives arrested Joseph Amir Wilson, then 18, of Aloha.
Wilson was booked into the Washington County Jail in Hillsboro, Washington County without bail. He was charged with two counts of murder.
In January 1975, the charges against Wilson were dropped. In 2000, he passed away.
Steven Paul Criss of Aloha was 65 when he was arrested on November 2, 2022. He is accused of fatally shooting Peter Jr. and Bartron on October 3, 1974.
On November 3, 2022, Criss was arraigned on two counts of second-degree murder and was held on no bail. He was booked into the Washington County Jail in Hillsboro.
CONAN Daily 