PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – A murder trial for the estranged husband of Deborah Lee Atrops has come to a close with the jury determining that he did kill his wife in 1988.

Robert Atrops, now 71, was found guilty of second-degree murder in a Washington County Courtroom on Thursday — more than 34 years after Deborah was found strangled to death.

Deborah was killed around Nov. 29, 1988, but the case went cold until the Washington County Cold Case Unit partnered with the Washington County Sheriff’s Office to reinterview witnesses and re-examine forensic evidence.

David Blunt, who was a Beaverton police officer in the 1980s, was among the first witnesses to take the stand when the trial began on April 1. Blunt found Deborah’s body in the trunk of her Honda Accord at a dead end of Murray Road. An autopsy revealed Deborah was strangled to death at age 30.

Atrops’ defense attorney, April Yates, pointed the finger at two other men as possible suspects.

“Two months after getting Bob’s DNA, Heather Feynman from the Oregon State Police Crime Lab found a mixture of DNA from multiple people on a swab, data from Debbie’s coat,” Yates said.

Yates told the jury Deborah was having an affair with at least one of the men, John Pearson. She told the jury Pearson spoke with his family before he committed suicide the week before Atrops’ trial was originally set to begin Oct. 22, 2024.

“He told them that he was worried that the police would pin the murder on him, and that he was concerned that his DNA would be everywhere,” Yates said.

Prosecutors combatted the theory Pearson was involved in Deborah’s death.

“You’re going to hear that John Pearson had an alibi that night, that he fully cooperated with their investigation, and that there was no evidence that he was going to have any plans or contact,” prosecutor Allison Brown said.

On behalf of Atrops, one of the attorneys representing him sent KOIN 6 News the following statement:

“We are disappointed by the verdict. Robert Atrops is an innocent man. We will be filing an appeal and we will continue to fight until he’s back home with his family.”

Atrops’ sentencing will be on May 20, 2025.