It's a horrific act of violence that's difficult to fathom. A Portland man was found dead on a hiking trail in the Cascade Mountains. Near his body was the body of his 4-month-old puppy.

Aron was 49 and loved the outdoors, and loved to hike in the mountains. He was working as a bartender and played bass guitar in various bands over the course of his life. At first, his family was told he died from a heart attack on that August day. Laced marijuana was another theory, with authorities volunteering that they didn't notice the bullet wound initially. Eventually, Lewis County officials declared Aron died from a gunshot to the chest. But who fired the gun?

On October 31, Lewis County Sheriff's Office "referred" first-degree manslaughter charges and first-degree animal abuse charges for Ethan Michael Asbach, a 20-year-old Washington man. Asbach reportedly told officials he "feared for his life" and fired a single shot from his gun at what he believed to be a wild animal of some sort. The young man then told the Lewis County Sheriff's Office that he and his 17-year-old girlfriend saw the bodies of Aron and Buzzo and continued on their way.

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