02/27/2025
A convicted murderer and ra**st has been released in Clatsop County on parole nearly 50 years after he was convicted of killing a grocery store clerk in Cannon Beach.
George W. Nulph, now 73, was released on parole Wednesday in Clatsop County; county parole officials declined to specify his address. The parole officials said Nulph would be under lifetime parole supervision.
In a split decision in October, the Oregon Board of Parole and Probation decided that Nulph would be released on parole, a decision that has drawn criticism from county prosecutors and the victim’s family.
In 1976, Nulph was convicted of abducting and killing Frances A. Christians, 51, in Cannon Beach.
Christians, a grocery store clerk, was taking her lunch break at Silver Point viewpoint on April 2, 1976, when Nulph abducted her, took her to the Tolovana Mainline logging road and sexually assaulted her before shooting her three times in the chest.
An ex-Marine who worked at Warrenton Lumber Co., Nulph pleaded “innocent by reason of mental disease or defect” but was convicted at the end of an eight-day trial, according to 1976 coverage by The Astorian.
Psychiatric testimony at the trial indicated that Nulph did not suffer from a mental disease or defect, although one psychiatrist said the defendant had a personality disorder.
State witnesses testified that they had found the murder weapon, a .22 caliber gun, under Nulph’s mattress, and that he was seen near the Tolovana Mainline road around the time of the murder.
Nulph was convicted of murder and first-degree kidnapping and sentenced to life in prison, but was released in 1986 under new sentencing guidelines.
Shortly after Nulph’s release, he held his Portland neighbor at gunpoint and r***d her until she managed to escape. He was then taken back into custody, where he has remained until now.
Nulph was convicted of murder and first-degree kidnapping and sentenced to life in prison, but was released in 1986 under new sentencing guidelines.
Shortly after Nulph’s release, he held his Portland neighbor at gunpoint and r***d her until she managed to escape. He was then taken back into custody, where he has remained until now.
In 2017, the Oregon Board of Parole and Post-Prison Supervision deferred his potential release, citing concerns that the defendant suffered from severe emotional disturbance that constituted a danger to the community.
But in October 2024, the board held an exit interview for Nulph and affirmed that he would be released on parole in February 2025. It was a contentious choice among board members, with two in favor of his release and one against.
“In a split decision, based on the doctor’s report and diagnosis, coupled with all the information that the Board is considering, the Board concludes that the AIC (adult in custody) does not suffer from a present severe emotional disturbance that constitutes a danger to the health or safety of the community,” the Board wrote in an form obtained by The Astorian.
Clatsop County District Attorney Ron Brown, who attended Nulph’s exit interview, said that the release likely had to do with his age and potential to become a medical liability for the state.
“I didn’t necessarily expect it, but I thought it was within the realm of possibility when they concluded the hearing,” he said. “But, you know, in a perfect world, I didn’t think he should have been getting out, that’s for sure.”
Lt. Kristen Hanthorn, the Clatsop County Corrections director, said Nulph will be under lifetime parole supervision and that her office had approved his proposed housing.
Christians’ granddaughter, Cynthia Christians, issued a statement on behalf of her family, and said that they were “shocked and appalled” at the “ludicrous decision to not only release Nulph, but that they’ve released him right back into the heart of the community (where) he committed his atrocities in 1976.”
Christians said she and her family believe Nulph will reoffend, citing the r**e that followed his first release and what they called a deep hatred that he has for women.
His failing health, she said, has not affected that mentality, and that it is imperative the public “know and understand the level of evil that they are now dealing with in their midst.”
She said the state of Oregon “has irrevocably failed my family in the worst possible way with their decision to release him back into the public. Furthermore, they failed to properly notify my family, and the community of which he is now a free man in, of his release.
“The parole board should be ashamed of themselves for multiple reasons, and they know it. They owe my family an explanation and an apology.”
Nulph will continue to live under supervision in Clatsop County unless he is accepted for transfer to another jurisdiction.
He is now in a halfway house in Seaside Oregon.
Story By: Jasmine Lewin
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