List of homicides in Oregon

This is a list of homicides in Oregon. It includes notable homicides committed in the U.S. state of Oregon that have a Wikipedia article on the killing, the killer, or the victim.

The list is divided into three sub-lists as follows:

1. Multiple homicides. The state's largest multiple homicide was the 1887 slaughter of 34 Chinese gold miners at the Hells Canyon Massacre. Other notable multiple homicides include the 2015 Umpqua Community College shooting (ten killed in mass shooting on college campus), the Oregon Museum Tavern shooting (five killed in Ladies' Night shooting), and the 2022 Bend, Oregon shooting (three killed at a Safeway grocery store).

2. Serial killers. Serial killers active in Oregon include Keith Hunter Jesperson, Robert Wayne Danielson, and Sebastian Shaw.

3. Individual homicides.

Multiple homicides

Listed in chronological order

Incident Location Date Deaths Description Sources
Hells Canyon Massacre Chinese Massacre Cove 1887-05 34 Massacre of Chinese gold miners [1]
Ardenwald axe murders Ardenwald 1911-06-09 4 Married couple and two children bludgeoned with an axe [2]
Lava Lake murders Deschutes National Forest 1924-01 3 Triple murder of fur trappers, bodies deposited under surface ice of lake [3]
Murders of Larry Peyton and Beverly Allan Portland 1960-11 2 Young couple disappeared, bodies discovered in a ravine [4]
Cowden family murders Copper 1974-09-01 4 Married couple and two children disappeared from campground, bodies discovered months later [5]
Oregon Museum Tavern shooting Salem 1981-05-07 5 Mass shooting at tavern during Ladies' night event [6][7]
Harry Charles Moore Salem 1992 2 Executed for double murder of two relatives [5][8]
Leathers Oil Company murders Gresham 1994-01-17 3 Employees of gas station shot and left in storage room [9]
Murders of Roxanne Ellis and Michelle Abdill Medford 1995-12-04 2 Murder of lesbian couple [10]
Thurston High School shooting Springfield 1998-05-20/21 4 Teenager murdered his parents and shot multiple victims at school the next day [11]
Christian Longo Newport 2001–12 4 Familicide by Starbucks worker who killed his wife and three children [9]
Clackamas Town Center shooting Clackamas 2012-12-11 3 Mass shooting at a mall by 22-year-old man with AR-15 [12]
2015 Umpqua Community College shooting Roseburg 2015-10-01 10 Mass shooting at college campus [9][13]
2017 Portland train attack Portland 2017-05-26 3 Fatally stabbed two men after confronted for shouting racist and anti-Muslim slurs [14]
2021 Douglas County, Oregon Douglas County, Oregon 2021-08-11 2 Homicidal Violence/RV fire [15]
2022 Bend, Oregon shooting Bend 2022-08-28 3 Mass shooting at Safeway grocery store [16]

Serial killers

Listed in chronological order

Incident Location Date Deaths Description Sources
Earle Nelson Multiple states 1926–1927 22–29 Serial killer known as "The Gorilla Man" [17]
Leroy McGahuey Mineral, Central Point 1957–61 2–3
Jerry Brudos Oregon 1968–1969 4 Serial killer and necrophile, aka Shoe Fetish Slayer [9][18]
Douglas Franklin Wright Oregon 1969–1991 7+ Serial killer
Robert Wayne Danielson Multiple states 1970–1982 7+ Serial killer responsible for 11-month killing spree through western states
Thomas Eugene Creech Oregon, California, Idaho 1974–81 3–43 Serial killer
Edward Delon Warren Brookings 1976–1979 3 Serial killer
John Arthur Ackroyd Oregon 1977–92 2–7+ Convicted for murder of Kaye Turner, suspected serial killer
Stanley Bernson Oregon, Washington 1978–79 2–30 Serial killer and companion of Ted Bundy [9]
William Perry Jackson Oregon, Washington 1980 5 Serial killer
Randall Woodfield Oregon, California 1980–1981 1–44 Serial killer known as the "I-5 Killer" [9]
William Scott Smith Salem 1981–84 4+ Serial killer [9]
Darren Dee O'Neall Multiple 1982–1987 1-6+ Suspected serial killer convicted of kidnapping/rape of 14-year-old girl in Portland
Dayton Leroy Rogers Molalla 1983–87 7–8+ Serial killer, aka The Molalla Forest Killer [9]
Keith Hunter Jesperson Multiple states 1990–1995 8-185 Canadian serial killer [19]
Sebastian Shaw Multiple 1991–92 3–13 Vietnam-born serial killer and rapist
Cesar Barone Portland area 1991-1993 4+ Serial killer [20]
Todd Alan Reed Portland 1999 3–5 Serial killer and sex offender raped and strangled homeless women [9]
Murders of Ashley Pond and Miranda Gaddis Oregon City 2002 2 Victims of serial killer Ward Weaver III [9]
Scott William Cox Multiple 2–20+ Serial killer [9]
Andrew David Edwards
Homer Jackson
Richard Laurence Marquette

Single homicides

Listed by date

Incident Location Date Description Sources
George LeBreton Oregon 1844-03-04 Official recorder of provisional Oregon government by Native American
Peter French Frenchglen 1897-12-26 Cattle king of Oregon shot in head by one of the homesteaders French sought to eject
Killing of Alonzo Tucker Coos Bay 1902-09-18 African-American boxer and gym owner accused of raping white woman and lynched by a mob
Harry Minto Albany 1915-09-27 Superintenent of Oregon state Penitentiary killed by escaped inmate
John K. Giles Oregon Sentenced to life in prison but escaped
Robert Folkes Train near Tangent 1943-01-23 Black man convicted and executed for the murder of a white woman on a train, historical works question his guilt
Oak Grove Jane Doe Oak Grove 1946 Unidentified murder victim found dismembered in Willamette River
Omar August Pinson Hood River 1947-04-15 Escaped prisoner shot and fatally wounded an Oregon State Police officer
Murder of Thelma Taylor Portland 1949-08-06 Teenager abducted and murdered
Jeannace June Freeman 1961 Murdered two children of her lover, first woman sentenced to death in Oregon [9]
Murder of Martha Morrison Portland 1974-09 17-year-old girl disappeared from Portland, remains discovered 2015
Jim Bradley Portland 1982-02-20 Pro basketball player shot to death in an alley in Portland
Diane Downs Springfield 1983-05-19 Sociopath mother shot her three children, killing one, blamed carjacker [9]
Christopher Brathwaite Eugene 1984-11-12 Sprinter from Trinidad shot by assailant with sniper rifle
Cheryl Keeton 1986-09-21 Lawyer murdered by husband during divorce, found inside her van on Sunset Highway
Murder of Mulugeta Seraw Portland 1988-11-13 Ethiopian student beaten to death by white supremacists [9]
Michael Francke Salem 1989-01 Director or Oregon corrections department and murder victim, subject of film Without Evidence
Murder of Yolanda Panek Portland 1995-07-13 Woman disappeared from motel with mattress soaked in blood
Marion Eugene Carl Roseburg 1998-06-28 WWII fighter ace and record-setting test pilot shot and killed at his home by burglar
Murder of Brooke Wilberger Corvallis 2004-05-25 LDS college student from BYU murdered while visiting Oregon
Susan Monica Wilmer 2012, 2013 Murdered two handymen who worked at her farm
Reynolds High School shooting Troutdale 2014-06-10 School shooting by 15-year-old shooter
Murder of Larnell Bruce Gresham 2016-08-10 Black 19-year-old run over by a Jeep driven by a member of the European Kindred gang
Murder of Daniel Brophy Portland 2018-06-02 Chef and instructor murdered by wife at Oregon Culinary Institute

References

  1. ^ "Massacre at Hells Canyon". PBS. Retrieved July 18, 2023.
  2. ^ JD Chandler (2013). Murder & Mayhem in Portland Oregon. The History Press.
  3. ^ Jim Yuskavitch (2017). Oregon Myths and Legends: The True Stories Behind History's Mysteries. TwoDot. p. 187. ISBN 9781493028269.
  4. ^ "Earl Son cracked the toughest Portland murder cases of his era, but his obsession came at a cost". The Oregonian. February 25, 2022.
  5. ^ a b Marques Vickers (2021). Murder in Oregon: Notorious Crime Sites. Marquis Publishing. p. 108.
  6. ^ "Four Slain and 20 Wounded in Bar as Oregon Man Shoots Into Crowd". The New York Times. May 9, 1981.
  7. ^ "Salem history: Oregon Museum Tavern shooting left". Statesman Journal. May 7, 2021.
  8. ^ "Convicted Killer Seeks Death Penalty Prisoner Berates Those Trying To Block His Execution". The Spokesman-Review. December 20, 1996.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Kale Williams (September 13, 2016). "The notorious northwest: 39 crimes that rocked the region". The Oregonian.
  10. ^ "'Personification of evil' dies on Oregon death row". KTVL. October 26, 2018.
  11. ^ Brian Bull (May 21, 2023). "25 years later, memories of Oregon's Thurston school shooting still haunt community". Oregon Public Broadcasting.
  12. ^ Lynne Terry (December 18, 2012). "Clackamas Town Center shooting: Man says he had shooter in his sights, but chose safety over firing". The Oregonian.
  13. ^ "Oregon Gunman Smiled, Then Fired, Student Says". The New York Times. October 9, 2015.
  14. ^ Phil Helsel (June 24, 2020). "Oregon man gets life without parole for killing 2 on Portland train after hate-filled tirade". NBC News.
  15. ^ "Autopsy: 2 found dead after Azalea RV fire 'died as a result of homicidal violence". August 11, 2021.
  16. ^ "New details emerge in Bend Safeway shooting; police release video footage, 398 pages of documents". The Oregonian. December 6, 2022.
  17. ^ "The Strangler" (PDF). Winnipeg Police Museum. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  18. ^ "A Serial Killer in Oregon: The Grisly Tale of Jerry Brudos "Shoe Fetish Slayer"". That Oregon Life. October 11, 2022.
  19. ^ Jack Smith. The Happy Face Murderer: The Life of Serial Killer Keith Hunter Jesperson.
  20. ^ "Oregon death row inmate dies, taking secrets with him". The Oregonian. December 24, 2009.