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Oregon Cold Cases

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Oregon Murders

If you’d like to dig deeper into the number of homicides in Oregon each year, you can visit the websites of many local, state, and even federal law enforcement organizations, who often publish comprehensive crime reports. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, in addition to many of Oregon’s law enforcement agencies, creates and publishes a yearly Uniform Crime Report that presents detailed information and statistics on different types of crime and crime rates for every state in the United States, which also includes the stats for many counties and cities in Oregon.

Another fantastic resource is Project: Cold Case, who, in a partnership with The Murder Accountability Project, has produced a comprehensive list of the statistics of unsolved homicides in each state which were committed from 1980 to 2019. According to that list, there were approximately 5,671 homicides in Oregon during the nearly 40-year time frame. Looking further, about 3,782 of those murders were solved during the same time period, leaving law enforcement with about 1,889 murders unsolved in Oregon as of the chart’s latest update. In addition to Project: Cold Case’s informational unsolved homicide statistics website, their website also hosts a database of almost 25,000 unsolved homicide cases across the United States, in addition to several government agencies and law enforcement agencies across Oregon, who provide their own cold case lists.

The 1988 murder of Deborah Atrops, the 1975 murder of Camille Foss, the 2006 murder of William Andrew Corpe, the 2009 murder of Joseph Patrick Haley, and the 1972 murder of Alma Jean Barra, as well as the unsolved 1999 disappearance of Teresa Davidson-Murphy, are some examples of currently unsolved murders in northern Oregon which may be found to be a part of the lists or databases previously mentioned. The 1970 double murder of Julie and Terry Dade, the 2005 murder of Angela Wilson, the 1975 murder of Shirley Wallace, the 1995 murder of Koni Lynn Berry, and the 1977 murder of Dennis Scott Cole, as well as the 2005 disappearance of Wendy Marie Dehoop, are a few examples of an additional category of unsolved crimes in Oregon: unsolved central Oregon murders.

An additional category of cases you may find on these websites or databases includes several unsolved murders in Salem, Oregon, including the 1970 murder of Laurel Wilson, the 1970 murder of Erika Payne, the 2008 murder of Jerry Harvey Davis, the 2001 murder of Bricio Munoz-Aguirre, and the 1992 murder of Marjorie M. Wells. Another grouping of cases within the list of cold cases on multiple law enforcement websites includes unsolved murders in Marion County, Oregon. Some additional examples of these types of cases include the 1972 murder of Barbara Bryson, the 1975 murder of Tina Migis, the 1987 murder of Norbert Henry Gilles, and the 1992 murder of Marie Maureen Wagner, which can be found within various lists and databases.


Unsolved Oregon Murders

As mentioned earlier, you can not only find homicide statistics on various law enforcement websites, but you can also find a complete list with unsolved homicide numbers and clearance rates in each state on the Project: Cold Case website. To reiterate, there are approximately 1,889 cold cases in Oregon, according to Project: Cold Case, a number that has declined significantly as law enforcement continues to investigate unresolved cases, utilizing every resource that is available to them. Most, if not all, of Oregon’s unsolved murders can often be found organized on the websites of several local and county law enforcement agencies.

The 1988 murder of Deborah Atrops, the 1975 murder of Camille Foss, the 2006 murder of William Andrew Corpe, the 2009 murder of Joseph Patrick Haley, and the 1972 murder of Alma Jean Barra, as well as the unsolved 1999 disappearance of Teresa Davidson-Murphy, can all be found included on these websites, showing a few examples of the several northern Oregon murders and disappearances, all of which currently remain unsolved. Other examples which you may find within lists of cold cases on law enforcement websites are several unsolved murders Salem, Oregon, which may include the 1970 murder of Laurel Wilson, the 1970 murder of Erika Payne, the 2008 murder of Jerry Harvey Davis, the 2001 murder of Bricio Munoz-Aguirre, and the 1992 murder of Marjorie M. Wells, along with several others.

The final category which you may be able to find within the lists of unsolved cases on law enforcement sites includes a few of the many unsolved murders Oregon. Examples of cases in this category include the 2019 murder of Billy Tucker, the 2010 murder of Allen Anthony Spencer, and the 2020 murder of Ariel Velasco, in addition to several disappearances, including the 2007 disappearance of Paul Jason Shuart, the 2012 disappearance of Isaac Lee Roberts, the 1995 disappearance of Avery Chester Charles, and the 1985 disappearance of Jerry Allen Conley.


Joseph Smedley
Joseph SmedleySuspicious Death, 2015
Asha Degree
Asha DegreeMissing, 2000

Consider this

More than 200,000 unsolved cases have gone cold since 1980, and murder clearance rates continue to drop. With equity for BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and other underserved victims not prioritized in the true crime community—together we can do better.

Famous Oregon Murders

If you are interested in the true crime genre, you may be more likely to have an interest in unsolved crimes in addition to solved crimes, some of which could be included in the list of all murders in Oregon, list of Oregon Murders, or even list of murders in Oregon. Within these lists, you can not only find solved and unsolved crimes, you can also frequently find famous Oregon murders, notorious Oregon criminals, famous disappearances, and occasionally even notorious Oregon serial killers.

Possibly the most infamous of Oregon murders which is almost always included in these lists that has since been solved is the 2002 double murder of Ashley Pond and Miranda Gaddis. Additional cold cases which have yet to be solved include the 1977 double murder of Terri Jentz and Shayna Weiss, and the 1923 triple murder of Ed Nickols, Roy Wilson, and Dewey Morris, commonly known as “The Lava Lake Murders Mystery.” Additional examples of Oregon’s many cold cases include some lesser-known missing persons cases, which could include the 1999 disappearance of Teresa Davidson-Murphy, the 2010 disappearance of Kyron Horman, and the 2005 disappearance of Wendy Marie Dehoop.


Homicide Rate in Oregon

Among the many reasons that the Federal Bureau of Investigation is a fantastic resource for individuals investigating true crime is their yearly Uniform Crime Reports, which provide the number of incidents and their relative crime rates, including those that occur in most cities and counties across the country. According to their 2019 Uniform Crime Report, the violent crime rate in Oregon was around 284.4 offenses per 100,000 inhabitants. Meanwhile, the Oregon murders rate in 2019 was around 2.8 per 100,000 residents, implying that nearly three individuals were murdered for every 100,000 people residing in Oregon that year.

Salem, Oregon’s capital city, has a population of about 117,800 people. According to different sources, the 2018 violent crime rate in Salem, Oregon, was around 417.97 per 100,000 people, while the Salem, Oregon, murders rate was roughly 2.91 per 100,000 residents. Regardless of the fact that we cannot currently predict how many murders in Salem, Oregon, 2021 or how many murders in Oregon 2021, we may use past Uniform Crime Reports provided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation as well as various Oregon law enforcement agencies to identify current crime patterns.

Marion County Murders

Marion County, Oregon, has an overall population of more than 352,600 individuals, according to the most recent census. With an apparent median violent crime and homicide rate, there are fewer homicides that go unsolved for extended periods of time than those in most other states. While we don’t know the exact number of how many Marion County murders have occurred in recent years, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s annual Uniform Crime Reports can at least provide some reliable information. According to these past reports, there were 2 Marion County murders in 2015, 5 in 2016, 7 in 2017, 3 in 2018, and 6 in 2019. Per these reports, it seems that the number of homicides that have taken place in Marion County over a five-year period has remained relatively stable, but fluctuates slightly each year.

Every once in a while, homicide investigators can acquire enough Marion County murders evidence to arrest and prosecute a suspect before they are finally able to send them off to a Marion County murders trial for their crime. Depending on the circumstances of the crime, the most typical forms of evidence utilized in Marion County homicide trials are DNA evidence, trace evidence, biological evidence, and even Marion County murders crime scene photos.


Salem, Oregon, Murders

Salem, Oregon, murders seemingly occur more frequently than those in most, if not all, cities in the state, most likely a result of the city’s large size and population. As we can see within Oregon’s homicide clearance rate, which sits at around 67% according to Project: Cold Case, most of the murders in Salem, Oregon, are quickly solved, thanks in part to law enforcement efforts and improvements in forensic technology. Of course, authorities continue investigating the state’s remaining unsolved murders. As with every other state, until all of their murders are solved, Salem murders discussion will continue within various social media platforms. Facebook, Websleuths, and Reddit are among the most popular within the true crime community, where users gather to speculate, share theories and information, and have conversations about every detail of a case, often including examples such as Salem murders pictures, Salem murders crime scene photos, and even Salem, Oregon, murders autopsy photos.

Thanks to breakthrough improvements in DNA technology, the U.S. has seen hundreds, if not thousands, of cold cases of every age be solved in every state. Some examples of the several cold cases in which Salem murders DNA or DNA from crimes which occurred in other parts of Oregon has been used in order to solve cold cases include the following: the 1980 murder of Barbara Mae Tucker, the 1979 murder of Janie Landers, and the 1977 double murder of Lliana Gay Adank and Eric Shawn Goldstrand. DNA even led to the identification of an unidentified 2-year-old boy who was found in 1963, who was finally identified as Stevie Crawford.


Oregon Serial Killers

If you’re interested in true crime, you’re certainly interested in serial killers as well. If you’ve ever glanced through any serial killer list, you could have come across one or more of the several Oregon serial killers without realizing or recognizing their identities. Remarkably, there are far more Oregon killers, specifically serial killers, than you may expect. To learn more about several Oregon serials killers, a simple search for a list of serial killers in Oregon or Oregon serial killer list will most likely give you all of the information you may be looking for.

A few of the most notorious Oregon serial killers who are almost always present within these lists are the following: Dayton Leroy Rogers, also known as the “The Molalla Forest Killer,” who murdered 7-8+ women from 1983-1987; Gary Ridgway, also known as “The Green River Killer,” who was convicted of murdering 49 women from 1982-1998 in Oregon and Washington, but confessed to 71 murders; Jerome “Jerry” Henry Brudos, who killed 3-4 women in Oregon from 1968-1969; and Randall Brent Woodfield, also known as “The I-5 Killer” or the “I-5 Bandit,” who was convicted for murdering one young woman, but was also linked to killing at least 6 other people from 1979-1981. Randall Woodfield is also the most notorious of Salem, Oregon, serial killers.


Crimes in Oregon

Project: Cold Case, the Murder Accountability Project, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Oregon State Police are all excellent resources for learning more about Oregon crime, particularly for learning more about the statistics for crime in Oregon. The FBI’s Uniform Crime Report is a perfect resource for examining exactly what types of crime occur in any part of Oregon, as well as showing crime rates for each area.

While it may seem like Oregon will never be able to put an end to every unsolved Oregon homicide case or true crime story in Oregon, just think about how much progress the state has made in recent history. In summary, there were approximately 5,671 murders in Oregon from 1980 to 2019. Since then, about 3,782 of those same cases have been solved, leaving the state only 1,889 unsolved murders in Oregon. The progress that has been made is mainly due to advances in forensic technology as well as the efforts and persistence of law enforcement agencies even in the most difficult unsolved cases. Ultimately, investigators from various law enforcement and investigative agencies across the state will continue to investigate the remaining unsolved cases until they can solve all of Oregon’s true crimes.


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Additional Oregon Cold Cases

Kyron HormanWinston MaxeyKaren LeeRodney GrissomRita Jolly Teresa Davidson-MurphyHoward DearmonWendy Marie DehoopSusan WickershamIan SpaldingTerry DadeJulie Ann Thompson DadeCamille Karen Covet FossSteven LambChristie FarniNiki BrittenBarbara MartinCrystal MillerDerrick EngebretsonChayston RobertsonRylan IhdeJeremy BrightAnnalycia CruzLucille GrenzWestie KnauerCarol MillerValerie PryorChristian LongIsaac RobertsPaul ShuartLynne BrownMichael BrysonJoan HallSuzanne JustisMichael LeeTimothy MoreauSou SaechaoRoxanne SimsJames HarveyAvery CharlesMitchell YoungLeona KinseyJeremy HaywardThomas RicheySigmund MyersSherry EyerlyMelissa BohmMark BosworthTimothy BradshawLisa BrisenoKenneth BudlongCharles ButlerJacob CartasJerome CharlesJeromy ChildressPeter BancarzAaron BarnesKerby BesseySamuel BoehlkeCynthia MartinezFloy BennettCelia BarnesJohn BarretoAlemtsehay AtsebehaRyan AubolPhillip BakemanTracy JohnsonToby AndersonJohn AndrewsDana AkhavuzLeafil AlforqueWalter AckersonAnton ZurfluhRoland AndersonSam BurgessThomas CottenBobbi CrescenziLisa CroninTadd CulleyKenneth CutcherDale DarrowJohn DaughertyWendy DehoopLatisha DoretyRobert DowMitchel DraperJackie FineTheada FixsenKimberly ForbesIan FosterJason FranksFauna FreyDonald FryGraciela GarciaJohn GatensThomas GibsonRussell GonzalesJose GonzalezKenneth GrethArthur Halfich (Jr)Randolph HammKaren HarmonErika HarrisAndrew Hebert-HopperShausha HensonCherie Hernandez-ArchuletaDaniel HilkeyCurtis HillEricka HoggElisabeth HusterThomas JeschkeLynn KasslerShaina KirkpatrickHoward KleyHenry KoepkeTiffany LazonAlex LeeAndrew LeeBrooke LindbergLarry LindquistRichard LongGordon LopezNicholas LutzRonald LylesKenneth MartinEllen Mccullum DrakeJerry MckoenDavid MekvoldJesus Merino-MendozaDavid MerkelsonCherril MillerEdilma Morales RamirezMickkoltin Morrison-HainesKevin NordquistJeanne PalinkasMatthew PalmerGlenn PennieKacey PerryJoan PetersonLinda PetersonRachanda PickleLinda PlevaOlga PonomarevaHarvey ReeserMark RefsellVirginia RingoTerry RogersChristopher SchillerGerald SchroederMichael ScofieldLouis SeligStanley SheltonJuan SierraBengt-Olov SjoestroemJerry SmithTimothy SparrowThomas SperbCharles StaleyFarren StanberryWilliam StarkeDavid StephensWilliam StilesDane SturtevantEthan SwigerKenneth Thies JrWoody ThomasLuke TredwayDaniel TrojanekFrancis TuliauShad TylerChristopher VanDaniel VancleavePaola Vasquez-UribeMichael VosTakoda WeedTiana WeedBrian WellsDaniel WheelerWayne WikelKenneth WilsonDelmy Acosta RaudalesGary AdamsLouis LakinChristopher FlammangCindy KingCarlos MartinezBrian PageShausha Latine HensonKelly SmithLori BlaylockVictoria SoderbergGerren KirkJohn BiesenIan MacFarlandMichael BalducciMitchell BarrMina Berasis SherriffEdmund CampbellJuan CruzSasha GerbozyCheryl SeyedinYevgeniy IlnitskiyGeorge HernandezSashidharan ChirukandothSteven CraftJacob EdrisJames KitchensJason ColbertDeon YoungZachary PorterRichard RandoshMarcus WiseRobert BissellDane DavisDarold StryffelerThomas ManizakSheena BabcockTimothy AamothJohn GetmanJerry CalhounKrista De La RosaCynthia GrotjohnWilliam GunnRaymond HickmanMarilyn KoskiEthel LanePeter Johnston IILana SapalaWinnefred FreemanVicki HollarLeigh Ann BoschStephanie WarnerRaj NarainSteven GromanAngelo ReedGrant SchmidtMartha EvansGeorgia KirkKathleen MeyersBenjamin DresslerJaime Doering Jr.Dennis SmithAleena WatkinsJohn SalleeTeresa PeroniGlenda CormieMaria Del Carmen QuintanaEugene HyattKami VollendroffJavier Navarro-BecerraEarl SmartAnthony KennedyCaleb HowardJames TurnerVirginia EricksonSanford RiceCorey WatermanIra Yallup Sr.Vanessa ReinschRobertson WintersDeborah TomlinsonGary FinckJames SmithTyrom TheisRoger LeMieuxAnne MagnusonRosie PilcherMerle RyanCheryl GroseEryn McClaryRebecca ReidAmatha SaenzEugene ArmstrongTheodore CalouriFred JenningsKimberly MericleLaronda BronsonRichard CampbellJay PringleMaya SandersRiley SalisburyBenita ChamberlinJudy ParkerTimothy DavisMelvin HalbertLeroy HendersonKatrina SweaneyBradley WakefieldCatherine WallaceWilson WalstromPatricia WattsAlfonso CottonKatheryne EgglestonDomingo RamirezMarvin ClarkStephanie DouglasHope AndersonJoshua ApplestillKelly DisneyCurtis HarveyEric VargasMichael GeorgiesJames MontiNorma CavileeLarry NelsonPaul St. ClaireBarbara GallagherMeghan OwensKevin HillDuane FochtmanJustin MaceIrin MeyerJames DimickBenjamin RobersonEric PrueittRoy AndersonKyle ArtRebekah BramelRussell BrooksJennifer BrownMark DribinMark GrainsAnthony GrandberryTanya JacksonTracey JohnsonDavid JonesChantrea KhimJohn LysenCourtland MumfordYolanda PanekJennifer RegerKevin SmithHenry Smith IIIJulie VaughnKeith WigeSteven YarbroughMarcos Vivar GarciaRonald LeckenbyJohn VezinaKim CharlesonTyrone RobinsonCarmen ForsytheWarren GardnerChristopher BernardsPeter KoskyBrian CaldwellDouglas DefoeBrian JonesDavid KillitzMargaret KohlerFaun MoonDaniel ObergRhonda SansovichRoy StephensTimothy WaltersDaming XuChristine NelsonDanny KelleyRichard EvansGregory EvansSkylyr BurdenDakota PetersonJose Rodriquez AlvarezTimothy KeaysSarah RoeckerSteven FrickAshok NarainJoseph TonerKevin ElkinsRaymond JohnsonShawn MaudeDonnell LoveRobert Breed IICarolann PayneBrendt RozelleJesus Vazquez SilvaMichael RobinsonRobert RichardsonJames ShookGregory BowlesJustin ShetlerJerry NorrisJuan ReynaJohn Hicks IIILaura HitsonAnn EllinwoodJoyce HessTeresa PetzoldMaria Bolanos-RiveraBarbara BrysonMonty CrouterDavid DurhamJohn FairbankMonica GibsonCullen JonesCharles LloydKarla Lopez-SantosThomas McAdamsHeather MehlhoffRonald OhmJames OlsenJuan RodriguezMichael SimmonsHarvey SkolnickMagoetsu ToriyamaBarbara WaldronTrystan WilderShawna ChavezLuis Estrada-AvilesAdam JohnsScott SellsCarl SmithHazel ChamblenKyle DinneenVictor FloresAngela HillKaren KincaidPatrick MahurinKarl MishlerBrandon PerdueWayne PowellKim RoacheRussell SturmDebra VanluvenWilliam WilliamsGlenda CampbellShawn HigginsAugust SchwabenlandJoseph DeserannoTeresa GruetterDonn JohnsonSteven MolineDonald SlaterPatricia SwanbergFrances BrewsterAngela ChanGary LarsenRon NordstromCorwin OsbornLynette PropstRobert BoboChristopher EvansDwain HodgeMax McIntoshPablo Murillo AlcarazEdward NyeJames ProctorPaul HouselDelbert LesterRandy LevineDaniel CristofoloJack O'HollarenJennifer DeLapWalter CierleyKattie TalbertBryan EnrightJulia Lopez GarciaBelkis Rivas-GalvesAlissa McCrannMatthew PughStephen LitseyMichael NaglakHenry EnglehardtJohn GruverDavid TerrisRobert ThompsonAlbert Self Jr.Ryan BeauchampBenjamin EderJared HamrickCarolyn RoadruckShannon RishelJason BjaransonEric Brazil