Greg Barnette / The Record Searchlight via APEdwin Lara in Siskiyou County Superior Court in Yreka, California, late last month. Lara, who is accused of killing Kayleee Sawyer, 23, of Bend.

A Redmond man facing aggravated murder charges in the death of a Bend woman has waived extradition in California and could return to Bend in the next week.

Authorities say Edwin Lara killed 23-year-old Kaylee Sawyer and fled to California, where he allegedly committed a series of violent acts including kidnapping, attempted murder and carjacking.

He was arrested July 26 and jailed in Siskiyou County, California.

A Deschutes County grand jury last week indicted Lara, 31, on four counts of aggravated murder, including two counts that allege kidnapping and attempted sexual abuse.

Lara waived extradition during a court appearance Tuesday in Siskiyou County Superior Court. He will now be transported back to Deschutes County by the sheriff’s department and arraigned on the aggravated murder charges.

Sawyer was last seen the morning of July 24 outside her apartment building in Bend near the Central Oregon Community College campus, where Lara worked as a campus safety officer. Her body was found two days later off state Highway 126 east of Sisters.

Aggravated murder is the only crime in Oregon punishable by the death penalty, though the governor’s office has had a moratorium on executions since 2011. Deschutes County District Attorney John Hummel has not said whether he’ll seek the death penalty in the case.

Hummel said Lara requested a full extradition hearing last week and that officials had already initiated the process with Gov. Kate Brown’s office.

Lara faces other charges in California, including an attempted murder charge involving a gun that could carry a prison sentence of 25 years to life. Prosecutors have tentatively agreed he will be tried in Oregon first.

“When he’s done in Deschutes County, he’ll come back here,” Siskiyou County District Attorney J. Kirk Andrus said Tuesday.

— Reporter: 541-617-7837,

aspegman@bendbulletin.com