Medford resident Dylan Suede McLeod was found guilty of second-degree murder on Monday for the death of 24-year-old Aaron Stitt in 2021 after a late-night jury verdict in Jackson County Circuit Court.

McLeod, 26, was one of three former wildland firefighters arrested in 2021 in connection with the Sept. 25, 2021, death of Stitt.

Stitt’s body was found inside the refrigerator of his Royal Avenue apartment after, according to autopsy reports, he died of blunt force trauma.

McLeod’s brother, 28-year-old Austin McLeod, was convicted in 2023 for Stitt’s murder. Brycen Scofield, 23, pleaded guilty last August. Both men have been sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole in 25 years.

Monday marked the first day of the second week of the murder trial with one final witness, Dr. James Olson, MD, a forensic pathologist and deputy state medical examiner with Oregon State Police, testifying about the autopsy he performed on Stitt.

Olson testified that Stitt had been struck in his head and face 46 times before his death. Olson said the injuries pointed to the use of a claw hammer, and jurors were shown photos of Stitt, with a shaved head and extensive contusions and lacerations to his face, scalp and neck.

Olson said that Stitt’s autopsy showed traces of methamphetamine and fentanyl in his system. Olson testified that he had conducted 9,000 to 9,500 autopsies during his career and that it was not uncommon for some individuals to develop a high tolerance to drugs and to function on some level. McLeod told police during interviews that Scofield was doing meth and “eating Xanax” during the ordeal.

Jurors heard closing remarks from Jackson County District Attorney Beth Heckert and McLeod’s defense attorney, Andy Simrin, after lunch and began deliberations just after 5 p.m., opting to remain in court until they could reach a verdict, which was announced just after 8 p.m.

The jury found McLeod guilty of three of four charges against him: guilty on counts of second-degree murder, robbery in the first degree and unlawful use of a weapon. A fourth charge, abuse of a corpse, resulted in a hung jury and did not return a jury vote to substantiate a stated “not guilty” verdict.

In closing arguments Monday, McLeod’s defense attorney Andy Simrin claimed McLeod was under duress, cooperating with an erratic, drug-induced Scofield out of fear for he and his brother’s lives. Simrin argued that the murder was premeditated by Scofield, who pleaded guilty to second-degree murder last August and that Scofield even played a rap song with lyrics that repeated, “murder on my mind.”

Heckert argued that video evidence did not indicate that McLeod was, in fact, under duress. Heckert said Dylan McLeod was calm enough to remove his blood-soaked shoes, change his clothing and was seen in a surveillance video removing “a jug of milk” and other items from Scofield’s home, including a “dab bong” that belonged to Dylan McLeod that Scofield had borrowed but not returned.

A video shown to jurors, accidentally captured on Scofield’s phone, provided audio in which a male voice, identified at Scofield, is heard describing Dylan McLeod’s shoes as “drenched in blood” and reveals Scofield giving instructions to the two brothers, stating they were going to “do this right.”

At one point, one of the men asks about backing a truck up to the apartment door in order to load the refrigerator. In the video, Dylan McLeod’s gun, which he told police he was unable to access during the ordeal, is visible in the waistband of his shorts.

A surveillance video from outside the building shows Dylan McLeod running to a pickup truck to retrieve ratchet straps to secure the refrigerator door.

Following Stitt’s death, interviews with McLeod and his parents indicated that the brothers went to the Cascade Inn in Medford, where their parents were living, and said they had witnessed a murder, Simrin told the jury. Dylan McLeod was vomiting, Simrin said, and took a shower while Austin McLeod, at the direction of his father, called 911.

McLeod, who wore long braids, a white dress shirt and dark jacket in court Monday, declined to testify on his own behalf. The 26-year-old appeared stoic and remained quiet during the proceedings.

While the courtroom on Monday was mostly full, three individuals identified as family of Aaron Stitt were on hand for the verdict. The small group comforted one another, dabbing their eyes, while the verdict was announced. They declined an offer by the court to make a statement but were told they could do so on Thursday, when Dylan McLeod is scheduled for sentencing at 9 a.m.

Prior to Monday’s verdict, Dylan McLeod’s only record appeared to be a charge in 2021 for operating a motor vehicle without driving privileges. Since his arrest, he has been charged for supplying contraband, a class C felony. Court records show McLeod containing strips covered in a substance that tested positive for opiates. A pre-trial conference for those charges is set for Dec. 30.