Inset, left to right: Oulaykham Mona Chopheng (Facebook) and Talon G. Mitchell (Washington County Sheriff's Office). Background: The area in Oregon where Mitchell killed Chopheng (Google Maps).
A 23-year-old man in Oregon who shot and killed his wife of only a few weeks inside their home before texting 911 and claiming he was "stuck in a dream" will spend the next two decades behind bars.
Washington County Circuit Judge Theodore Sims last week ordered Talon Gabriel Mitchell, who was 19 years old at the time of the killing, to serve 20 years in a state correctional facility for the 2023 slaying of Oulaykham Mona Chopheng, court records show.
Sims handed down the sentence Tuesday after Mitchell pleaded guilty to one count each of first-degree manslaughter with a firearm and unlawful use of a weapon.
While he must serve the first 10 years of his sentence in full, he will be eligible to have the latter half of his sentence reduced for good behavior.
Mitchell contacted emergency services himself after the shooting, sending a local dispatcher a series of bizarre messages, including that he was "stuck in a dream," Portland CBS affiliate KOIN reported.
Investigators later learned Mitchell had taken LSD the morning of the shooting and subsequently told authorities he did not remember firing the gun.
The case began on Feb. 23, 2023, when officers with the Beaverton Police Department responded to a request for a welfare check at an apartment complex in the 1000 block of Southwest 160th Avenue in Beaverton, about 10 miles southwest of Portland. One of the couple's neighbors called 911 around 10:15 p.m. and reported hearing a woman crying and screaming for help, according to a report from The Oregonian.
When officers arrived and entered the apartment, they found Chopheng dead on the couch from a gunshot wound to the face. Mitchell, who authorities said had visible blood on his shoes, was taken into custody soon afterward.
Witness accounts helped investigators piece together the chaotic moments before police arrived.
Neighbors reported hearing a woman sobbing and a man speaking in short, abrupt sentences coming from the apartment shortly before the shooting, according to court records cited by local media.
According to court documents, Mitchell told investigators he believed he was trapped in a dreamlike state when the shooting occurred.
"HELP, IM STUCK IN A DREAM," he reportedly wrote in one of the messages sent to emergency authorities. "I'm being controlled," he wrote in another. Other messages included: "Help me" and "Insanity."
In an interview with police, Mitchell confessed that he had ingested LSD that morning and then blacked out, KOIN reported. He claimed that he was sitting by the front door of the apartment when he woke up later that evening and saw his wife's bloody body on the couch. Thinking it was a bad dream or a zombie apocalypse, Mitchell said he decided to text 911.
Before reaching a deal with prosecutors, Mitchell had been scheduled to go to trial on March 31.
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