Police say a man found badly injured in a vacant house died after an assault that began near a trailhead and ended with murder and kidnapping charges.

KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. — A welfare check at a vacant house in Klamath Falls turned into a homicide investigation after officers found a 32-year-old man naked, bound and severely beaten, and police later arrested three people over four days in a case that now includes murder, kidnapping and weapons charges.

What began as an assault response on the morning of Feb. 26 quickly widened into one of the city’s highest-profile violent crime investigations of the year. Investigators say Kolton Esparza, identified in court records as an unhoused man, was taken to a vacant home near the Eulolona Trailhead, beaten so badly that he later died at a hospital, and left with injuries that court papers describe as signs of torture. Police have accused Reggie L. Townsend Jr. of carrying out the fatal attack, while charging Jamie S. Harrington and Wesley J. Powless with taking part in the events around it.

Police were sent at about 10:52 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 26, to a vacant residence at 875 Cypress Ave. after a caller reported that an unhoused man was inside, naked and apparently assaulted. Officers and medics found Esparza in critical condition and rushed him to Sky Lakes Medical Center. After he was stabilized, he was flown or transferred to St. Charles Medical Center in Bend, where he later died, shifting the case from an assault inquiry to a homicide investigation. The Klamath County Major Crime Team was activated as detectives began tracing Esparza’s final movements. According to a probable cause affidavit, investigators concluded the violence had started nearby, after Esparza got into a vehicle with Townsend, Harrington and another man and was taken toward the trailhead instead of to a place where he had asked to be dropped off.

From there, investigators say, the case came together through a mix of statements, scene evidence and a letter later turned over to police. Harrington told investigators she drove her 2006 Dodge Dakota to pick up Townsend and two men, including Esparza, and then took them to the Eulolona Trailhead after Esparza asked to be let out somewhere else. In the affidavit, she said the three men got out and began walking east on Cypress Avenue. About 10 minutes later, she said, she left and picked up two of the men on foot. Police say Esparza was found in a vacant house directly east of the trailhead and along the path described in those accounts. The affidavit also says Townsend later wrote to his girlfriend, “I beat Kolton with a rock and stomped him out with my shoes,” a statement investigators treated as a direct admission.

The arrests followed in sequence. Harrington, 49, was arrested Friday morning, Feb. 27, and booked on first-degree kidnapping and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, according to local reports at the time. Townsend, 34, was arrested during a high-risk traffic stop late Saturday, Feb. 28. Police said he was booked on first-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping, unlawful use of a weapon, tampering with evidence and felon in possession of a firearm. A .22 caliber rifle was found in his possession, authorities said, even though police say he was barred from having a gun because of a prior felony conviction. Powless, 39, was arrested Monday, March 2, during another traffic stop and booked on second-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping, first-degree assault and tampering with evidence.

The case drew added attention because Townsend had only recently returned to the community after serving prison time for manslaughter, according to the charging coverage. Law enforcement said he was released in November 2025. Days later, on Nov. 30, he posted on Facebook that he was “fresh outta prison” and “vibing” with family. Investigators later pointed to that timeline as they assembled the new case. They have not publicly laid out a clear motive, and they have not publicly explained what set off the violence after the group arrived near the trailhead. Nor have they fully described Powless’ alleged role beyond the charges. But the affidavit and arrest statements together sketch an investigation centered on transport, confinement, a fatal beating and efforts after the attack that prosecutors say amount to kidnapping, evidence tampering and homicide.

There is also a stark sense of place in the case record. The address where officers found Esparza sits in the same corridor described in police statements about the route from the trailhead, turning an ordinary welfare call into a crime scene with regional attention. Klamath Falls police publicly thanked the Oregon State Police and the Klamath County Sheriff’s Office for help locating suspects, and the case became a test of how quickly local agencies could coordinate after a victim was found alive but gravely injured. By the time the third arrest was announced, authorities were describing the investigation as a joint effort aimed at “providing justice for the victim,” while public reporting had begun to focus on the brutality alleged in the affidavit and the vulnerability of the man police say was targeted.

As of the charging stage, Townsend was expected in court for a preliminary hearing on March 9, while the broader homicide case remained active and investigators continued to sort out the roles of all three defendants.

Author note: Last updated March 31, 2026.