Meth-Dealer-Turned-Murderer Who Defended Himself In Court Finds Out What Comes Next

(PatriotPostNews.com) – An Oregon man has been sentenced to life in prison for the second of two murders for which he has been convicted.

57-year-old Christopher Lovrien appeared in court on Friday, April 26, to learn that he would be spending the rest of his life in jail—the second such sentence he received this year. Lovrien, a former drug dealer who pleaded guilty earlier this year to killing a man 25 years ago, was most recently sentenced for the separate murder of 53-year-old Kenneth Griffin in 2020.

In January 2024, the suspect conceded to killing 42-year-old Mark Dribin after a methamphetamine deal. The victim’s body—thought to have been discarded after the murder in early July 1999—has not yet been uncovered. In that trial, Lovrien said he would have won had he been able to afford a private lawyer.

In the Griffin murder case for which he was just sentenced, the suspect primarily represented himself in court, where he claimed he was being set up for the crime. He argued that an autopsy photo was “stolen” and was false evidence. At the end of the trial, which was held last month, standby counsel assisted with his defense. Lovrien was ultimately convicted of first-degree abuse of a corpse and second-degree murder.

He was sentenced by Circuit Judge Christopher Ramras to life imprisonment, possibly eligible for parole after 46 years. In Dribin’s murder, the suspect received a sentence of 20 years in prison. The cold case was solved more recently due to DNA evidence and testing resources that connected Lovrien to the scene of the crime.

Following his sentencing for Dribin’s murder, Lovrien remained in the Multomah County jail before his trial in the February 2020 death of Griffin. In May of that year, the suspect was arrested in connection with Dribin’s death. Authorities heard him tell his brother over the phone not to look in the shed at his home.

Upon receiving permission to investigate, police found the dismembered body of Griffin in storage bins in the location, leading to the second murder conviction.