Local Man indicted on Manslaughter in death near TD High School in March
Alexandra Shea Cagle was found deceased in a U-Haul rental pickup on March 27 in The Dalles and the cause of suicide did not persuade her family, which took it upon themselves to dig deeper into the circumstances. Joseph Carl Newman now stands charged with second-degree manslaughter.
By Tom Peterson
Police have arrested Joseph Carl Newman, 60, of The Dalles in connection with the strange “suicide death” of 29-year-old Alexandra Shea Cagle who was found in a U-Haul pickup in the parking lot of The Dalles First United Methodist Church on 11th Street near The Dalles High School on March 27.
Cagle, of Olympia, Wash., was visiting The Dalles when she died.
She was found in the rental pickup two days after her death on a Monday, and a portable combustion trash pump was also found next to her in the vehicle.
It is believed she died from carbon monoxide toxicity from the pump motor’s exhaust. No other drugs were found.
Joseph Carl Newman, 60, of The Dalles
An official medical examiner’s report has not been released to the family yet.
Newman was indicted by a Wasco County Grand Jury on Wednesday, May 17, and formal charges of second-degree manslaughter have been leveled against him.
“The defendant on or about March 25, 2023, in Wasco County, Oregon, did unlawfully intentionally aid Alexandra Shea Cagle, another human being, to commit suicide,” the indictment states.
Wasco County District Attorney Matthew Ellis said he “really struggled with the case” and left it up to Grand Jury with specific instructions that the charge had to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
CCCNews went to Newman’s home on May 19 seeking comment about the charge. The woman who answered the door said “no comment” twice with the wag of a finger.
A court-ordered warrant for Newman’s arrest went out on Thursday, May 18 and The Dalles Police Department took Newman into custody the same day. He was booked at NORCOR jail in West The Dalles. He is expected to be arraigned on the charge this afternoon, May 19. He will also likely be assigned an attorney at that time.
Family Speaks Out
Alexandra Shea Cagle, left, and Brianna Valenti have been friends since they were 15. Valenti is now working with Cagle’s family as they seek justice in the 29-year-olds death.
Brianna Valenti, 30, of Palm Springs said she had been friends with Cagle since they were 15, and the original story about Cagle’s committing suicide on her own never made sense to her or Cagle’s family.
Valenti contacted CCCNews on behalf of the family to humanize the 29- year-old who regrettably only garnered a brief and clinical description in our original story.
She said they are also seeking justice.
Brianna Valenti’s recent tatoo since the passing of her friend.
“She was in a vulnerable state dealing with severe clinically-diagnosed mental illness disorders. She was down about life and unhappy. Her fragile mental state allowed her to fall victim to manipulation, which distorted the reality she was living in. I do believe she was taken advantage of.”
Valenti said she had been keeping in touch with Cagle every three weeks prior to her death. She said her friend struggled with bipolar disorder for years.
But her death was a blind side. She was only 29.
500 E. 11th Street, The Dalles
“She was intelligent, witty, funny, intuitive… with a laugh so contagious,” Valenti said. “She was creative, loved to paint and draw, knowledgeable of web design… loved music and to read and exercise, extremely religious with her relationship with God… and if you ever heard her laugh, you would never forget it… She truly had a soul on fire.”
”It just didn’t make sense, any of it.”
The day after police discovered the body, Alexandra’s mother and her two sisters visited Newman to collect Cagle’s personal belongings at 500 E. 11th Street - 700 feet from where Cagle was found deceased. The home is owned, in part, by Joseph Newman, according to Wasco County Property records.
Happier Times - From left to right, Mother, Karla Cagle, sister Lauren Cagle, Alex Cagle, and sister Katie Cagle.
“Everybody at the house went ghost white,” Valenti said of the meeting, noting Newman and soon-to-be daughter-in-law came to the door. “They did not know she had family, that people loved her,” she said.
“The first thing Joe said to her mother and sisters when he came out of the house was, ‘I tried to save her.’ Which was a jarring statement to hear.”
And then there was that U-Haul pickup rental and the purchase of the combustion trash pump at Coastal Farm and Ranch just shortly before Alexandra died.
It was all purchased with Cagle’s temporary bank card.
The US Bank Visa Card Statement provided by Valenti shows there was a deposit from Apple Cash, money her mother gave her for phone bills. But there was also a deposit the family and Valenti can not explain on March 22 - a deposit of $258 from US Bank, bringing the account to more than $500.
It also shows the purchase of the pump from Coastal for $449.
None of it made sense, Valenti said.
Combustion Trash Pump
“I know for sure that Alex did not even know what the pump was, and she is not mechanically inclined.”
She said her friend would have needed help to figure out how to run the pump - how to set up the new motor - adding fuel, oil and then figuring out how to start it.
The family started looking into where Cagle had been in the days preceding her death.
Newman disclosed to the family that he and Cagle met at Route 30 approximately a month earlier. And It is unclear why, but Newman dropped Cagle off at a mental health facility in Portland on March 22. He then picked her up from the same location on Friday, March 24.
Valenti provided a receipt for four beers and dinner for the same pub in Hood River at 6:35 p.m. the same night.
The Dalles Police questioned Newman about the events leading up to Cagle’s death, Valenti said.
Police were also able to retrieve the video footage of Cagle and Newman together at Coastal on March 25 when the trash pump was purchased, Valenti said.
“While nothing will bring Alex back, her family and friends just want justice,” Valenti said.
