List of homicides in Oregon

Homicides in U.S state of 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

[edit]

Listed in chronological order

Incident  | Location  | Date  | Deaths  | Description  | Sources

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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]
2022 Bend, Oregon shooting | Bend | 2022-08-28 | 3 | Mass shooting at Safeway grocery store | [15]

## Serial killers

[edit]

Listed in chronological order

Incident  | Location  | Date  | Deaths  | Description  | Sources

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Earle Nelson | Multiple states | 1926–1927 | 22–29 | Serial killer known as "The Gorilla Man" | [16]
Leroy McGahuey | Mineral, Central Point | 1957–61 | 2–3 |
Jerry Brudos | Oregon | 1968–1969 | 4 | Serial killer and necrophile, aka Shoe Fetish Slayer | [9][17]
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 | [18]
Sebastian Shaw | Multiple | 1991–92 | 3–13 | Vietnam-born serial killer and rapist |
Cesar Barone | Portland area | 1991–1993 | 4+ | Serial killer | [19]
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 | Multiple states | 1987–1992 | 4 | Serial killer |
Homer Jackson | Oregon | 1983–1993 | 4+ | Serial killer |
Richard Laurence Marquette | Oregon | 1961–1975 | 3 | Serial killer |

## Single homicides

[edit]

Listed by date

Incident  | Location  | Date  | Description  | Sources

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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 | Wimer | 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 Kaylee Sawyer | Bend | 2016-07-24 | COCC student murdered by a campus security guard |
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

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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. ^ "New details emerge in Bend Safeway shooting; police release video footage, 398 pages of documents". The Oregonian. December 6, 2022.
16. ^ "The Strangler" (PDF). Winnipeg Police Museum. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
17. ^ "A Serial Killer in Oregon: The Grisly Tale of Jerry Brudos "Shoe Fetish Slayer"". That Oregon Life. October 11, 2022.
18. ^ Jack Smith. The Happy Face Murderer: The Life of Serial Killer Keith Hunter Jesperson.
19. ^ "Oregon death row inmate dies, taking secrets with him". The Oregonian. December 24, 2009.