Slaying over ‘prized samurai sword’ leaves one Oregon brother dead, the other in prison

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A 43-year-old Portland man who fatally chopped his brother in the neck for damaging his beloved Japanese sword was sentenced Monday to 10 years in state prison.

William Lawrence appeared to regret dealing the fatal blow to his older brother, 44-year-old Gus Lawrence, just moments after the April 29, 2024, stabbing.

“I just killed my brother, oh my god, I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry,” he said in a 911 call, according to court records.

Multnomah County Sheriff’s deputies had been called to the rural home just off Northwest Cornelius Pass Road about 1 a.m. by Gus Lawrence, who told deputies he’d just gotten into a furious row with his brother.

Gus Lawrence admitted to using his feet to bend his brother’s “prized samurai sword” into an L-shape while trying to break it, according to a bail memo. When deputies arrived, Gus Lawrence was confined to his bed upstairs due to the bloody bandages wrapping his soles.



Deputies suggested that William Lawrence spend the night on the couch downstairs to let things cool off, and departed without taking further actions.

It was just minutes following their departure, around 2 a.m., that William Lawrence rushed upstairs, slashing his brother as Gus Lawrence threw up his arms. He died of a fatal cut to his jugular vein.

The two brothers lived with their mother, Elinor Markgraf, a former humor columnist for The Oregonian. She declined to comment.

Circuit Judge Jenna Plank imposed the sentence once William Lawrence pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter as part of a deal with prosecutors.

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