Inset: Eric Alexander in court (KPTV/YouTube). Background: The Oregon home that Eric Alexander torched while a family was inside (Portland Fire & Rescue).
A California man who became "enraged" after a relationship ended and then followed their ex-girlfriend to Oregon — while stalking her and sending the woman "graphic threats" about killing her — is headed to prison for more than two decades.
Prosecutors say Eric Alexander, 43, not only terrorized the ex, they also torched a Portland home where the woman's boss lived, believing the family that lived there was connected to her.
Alexander was sentenced last week to 20 years and 10 months in prison after he pleaded guilty to five counts of attempted second-degree murder, four counts of arson, one count of criminal mischief, two counts of stalking, two counts of telephonic harassment, one count of menacing constituting domestic violence, and four counts of recklessly endangering another person.
"This case is unlike any other case encountered by this office," Multnomah County Circuit Court Judge Eric Dahlin told the court after Alexander was sentenced, according to a Multnomah County District Attorney's Office press release.
"After significant briefing, testimony of experts, and impact statements, the Court imposed a just sentence in weighing the gravity of the months' long conduct and the severity of Mr. Alexander's mental health," Dahlin said.
According to the DA's office, Alexander lived in California and had an "extensive history of mental illness" over the last two decades. The victim told police she previously dated Alexander for a year and a half before they broke up in July 2024.
"The victim moved to Oregon in July and learned in late September of 2024 that Alexander followed her to Portland," the DA's office says, noting how Alexander was "enraged" by the breakup. "She said they met up twice but then she made it clear that she did not want any further contact from Alexander."
Alexander began posting videos on social media and sending their ex messages with "graphic threats on how they would kill her and others," according to prosecutors.
"During a state of psychosis, Alexander believed that the intended victim was connected to a Portland-area family and began sending threatening emails to the family, targeting the woman and children of the home," the DA's office says. "Just after midnight on Nov. 7, 2024, Alexander threw an incendiary device at the house which landed on the front porch of the family's home and set the house on fire."
Alexander was later found at a local hospital "where they had voluntarily admitted themself for a mental health emergency," according to prosecutors.
Alexander confessed to setting the family's home on fire while the family was asleep inside. Everyone managed to escape safely, and no one was injured.
"The father discovered the fire in the early morning hours and got his family out safely," the DA's office says.
According to local Fox affiliate KPTV, the mother gave a victim impact statement during Alexander's sentencing hearing and said, "The trauma is still very present. For example, I still struggle with anxiety. I have an intense bodily response to any kind of alarm. My oldest child struggles with anxiety, and my youngest struggles to trust that adults will keep her safe and is terrified by the fire alarms at school."