How a forbidden teen relationship may have led to a father's murder | Forensic Files

This week's 48 Hours investigates the disappearance of a father and a daughter in Oregon. In 2017, Aaron Fryer and his
teenage daughter Ellie were reported missing. After arriving at their home, police discovered signs of a violent
struggle. Soon, investigators found Ellie unharmed walking with her boyfriend and his friend. But what led
police to detain them? Here's an early look at Natalie Morales' 48 Hours report.
On October 2nd, 2017, police officers arrived at the Medford, Oregon home of Fryer and his 15-year-old daughter
Ellie, only to discover a bloody scene. Lead Detective Bill Ford. We treated it as missing person, serious
assault. Everyone was out looking. Soon, Ellie Fryer was found. She was walking with her boyfriend, Gavin
McFarland. They were with Gavin's friend, Russell Jones. Do you have ID with your name on there?
Uh, no, I don't. All three were detained and brought in for questioning. I'm cool with that.
Yeah, I have nothing to hide. Russell Jones surprised Detective Ford by claiming that Aaron was dead and that
Gavin had killed him in self-defense. Then, he led detectives to Aaron's body. Right here in this green car.
But when Russell was returned to the interrogation room alone, he began taunting investigators.
You're listening in on my conversations, aren't you? This, I imagine, got everybody to stop
what they were doing and gather around the monitor and watch this. that's what you do.
I can still twist your little mind. Don't piss me off. For her part, Ellie was telling
investigators Russell was responsible. I believe that Russell is the one that killed my father.
But when Gavin McFarland was questioned, he pointed at Ellie. She wanted him dead, but I didn't want
to kill him. Gavin told detectives Aaron had forbidden him from seeing Ally, suggesting a possible motive. But with
all three pointing at each other, detectives didn't know who or what to believe.
And Mr. Ford, you want the whole story? Cuz I did miss a few parts. And Natalie joins us now. Natalie, good
morning. You know, the question here is why did Ally's father, Aaron, want to keep Ally
and Gavin apart? But just in that 2 minutes, I get I can understand why. What did you learn?
Well, Gavin was 19 years old at the time. Ally was 15, so she was a minor. So, she was forbidden to see him.
Obviously, she continued with that relationship, but Gavin maintained that he was just trying to protect Ally
because Ally had told him that her father was abusing her sexually. And so, that was therefore some motive for them
to go through with this plan. But police say they had no evidence they could find
no evidence to corroborate the story of abuse. Yeah, the plot thickens. How was Aaron
Frier killed? Do we know? He was It was he was he died by blunt force trauma to the head, and
investigators found a blood-soaked bat near the scene where his body was was found. So, but to find out who swung the
bat, you're going to have to tune in Saturday night to 48 Hours. Well, Natalie, can you tell us what
investigators thought of Gavin's friend, Russell Jones, who put on that performance there in the I guess the
questioning room? Very creepy on the tape. Yeah. Yeah, very much so. You saw that it was
quite Everybody stopped and watched as you saw that. And Russell Jones is a little bit complicated to describe, but
he maintained he was also there trying to help Ally out of a bad situation with her father and that he was only trying
to help protect her as well but he also as you saw told authorities that he wasn't being entirely entirely truthful.
Wow, looking forward to this episode of 48 Hours. Natalie Morales, thank you very much. You can watch Natalie's 48
Hours report first love then murder tomorrow night at 10:00 9:00 Central right here on CBS and streaming on
Paramount Plus.

When police arrived at the Oregon home of a father and daughter reported missing in October 2017, they discovered a bloody scene. Natalie Morales reports on how the daughter's forbidden romance may have led to a murder in an all-new "48 Hours."

Each weekday morning, "CBS Mornings" co-hosts Gayle King, Tony Dokoupil and Nate Burleson bring you the latest breaking news, smart conversation and in-depth feature reporting. "CBS Mornings" airs weekdays at 7 a.m. on CBS and stream it at 8 a.m. ET on the CBS News app.

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Brief Summary

A father and daughter disappear in Oregon, leading to conflicting accusations and a complex murder investigation involving family dynamics and abuse allegations.

Key points

Father and Daughter Disappearance. The investigation into the disappearance of Aaron Fryer and his daughter Ellie reveals shocking twists.
Murder Confession. Russell Jones claims Aaron was killed in self-defense, leading detectives to a body.
Unraveling Motives. Gavin claims Ellie wanted her father dead, complicating the investigation further.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

Don't piss me off.

Russell taunts investigators during interrogation.

1:40WatchApr 18, 2025

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