Crime in Oregon

The rate of crime in Oregon, at least since 1985, has varied from below the United States national average to slightly above, depending on if one is looking at violent crime or property crime statistics. The violent crime rate remained below the national average every year between 1985 and 2022, while property crime generally remained above the average during that time. Every year between 2011 and 2020, Oregon maintained one of the 20 lowest violent crime rates in the United States.{{cite web |title=Trend of Violent Crime from 1985 to 2022 |url=https://cde.ucr.cjis.gov/LATEST/webapp |website=FBI Crime Data Explorer |publisher=Federal Bureau of Investigation |access-date=November 17, 2023}} However, some of the most notorious serial killers in U.S. history were known for killing or operating in Oregon, including perhaps the most famous, Ted Bundy, as well as the second most prolific in terms of confirmed murders, Gary Ridgway, among many others.

Crime statistics (1960–2009)

Reported cases of crime in the state of Oregon between 1960 and 2009:[http://www.disastercenter.com/crime/orcrime.htm www.disastercenter.com]

class="wikitable sortable" state=collapsed ! Year !!Population !!Index !!Violent !! Property !! Murder !!Forcible rape !!Robbery !!Aggravated assault !!Burglary !!Larceny theft !! Vehicle theft
1960	1,768,687	34,970	1,232	33,738	43	166	563	460	7,175	24,252	2,311
1961	1,799,000	36,000	1,242	34,758	48	138	626	430	7,276	24,983	2,499
1962	1,864,000	38,364	1,461	36,903	54	174	714	519	8,268	25,871	2,764
1963	1,826,000	40,362	1,393	38,969	55	161	554	623	8,823	27,023	3,123
1964	1,871,000	47,438	2,009	45,429	34	225	703	1,047	10,727	30,812	3,890
1965	1,899,000	52,376	2,290	50,086	65	226	873	1,126	12,079	34,161	3,846
1966	1,955,000	58,400	2,470	55,930	53	247	895	1,275	13,394	37,840	4,696
1967	1,999,000	69,268	3,147	66,121	61	248	1,317	1,521	17,140	43,515	5,466
1968	2,008,000	74,978	3,955	71,023	64	346	1,536	2,009	18,978	46,612	5,433
1969	2,032,000	85,543	4,527	81,016	81	371	1,760	2,315	22,853	51,692	6,471
1970	2,091,385	98,048	5,373	92,675	97	377	2,144	2,755	26,632	59,082	6,961
1971	2,158,000	106,601	6,335	100,266	70	478	2,383	3,404	28,933	63,543	7,790
1972	2,182,000	110,156	6,494	103,662	119	574	2,390	3,411	32,049	63,178	8,435
1973	2,225,000	117,860	6,512	111,348	110	653	2,211	3,538	35,772	66,494	9,082
1974	2,266,000	143,772	8,326	135,446	127	732	2,964	4,503	41,766	83,060	10,620
1975	2,288,000	154,491	10,034	144,457	142	745	2,982	6,165	43,738	90,053	10,666
1976	2,329,000	148,097	10,654	137,443	97	829	3,091	6,637	39,587	88,661	9,195
1977	2,376,000	142,256	10,830	131,426	117	948	2,948	6,817	38,880	83,306	9,240
1978	2,444,000	148,483	12,278	136,205	123	1,008	3,204	7,943	39,523	87,033	9,649
1979	2,527,000	161,045	13,781	147,264	107	1,121	3,299	9,254	40,682	96,823	9,759
1980	2,610,477	174,561	12,802	161,759	132	1,084	3,978	7,608	45,641	106,712	9,406
1981	2,647,000	186,267	12,671	173,596	117	1,105	4,780	6,669	52,067	112,518	9,011
1982	2,649,000	173,973	12,529	161,444	136	1,057	4,433	6,903	47,410	106,061	7,973
1983	2,662,000	166,398	12,986	153,412	109	1,078	4,533	7,266	46,472	98,880	8,060
1984	2,674,000	166,956	13,533	153,423	128	1,201	4,508	7,696	48,755	96,742	7,926
1985	2,687,000	180,830	14,807	166,023	125	1,363	4,986	8,333	50,690	105,725	9,608
1986	2,698,000	191,037	14,830	176,207	178	1,379	5,555	7,718	53,062	112,312	10,833
1987	2,724,000	189,835	14,697	175,138	153	1,247	5,338	7,959	48,562	113,907	12,669
1988	2,741,000	193,479	14,959	178,520	139	1,111	5,289	8,420	48,355	113,872	16,293
1989	2,820,000	173,744	14,625	159,119	134	1,314	4,282	8,895	40,197	103,690	15,232
1990	2,842,321	160,478	14,405	146,073	108	1,332	4,102	8,863	32,273	100,765	13,035
1991	2,922,000	168,165	14,795	153,370	133	1,561	4,387	8,714	34,363	105,145	13,862
1992	2,977,000	173,289	15,189	158,100	139	1,580	4,507	8,963	32,945	109,274	15,881
1993	3,032,000	174,812	15,254	159,558	140	1,554	3,930	9,630	31,072	110,878	17,608
1994	3,086,000	194,307	16,067	178,240	150	1,333	4,264	10,320	33,970	122,506	21,764
1995	3,141,000	206,173	16,408	189,765	129	1,309	4,332	10,638	34,640	133,075	22,050
1996	3,204,000	192,132	14,837	177,295	129	1,272	3,914	9,522	31,664	128,618	17,013
1997	3,243,000	203,328	14,412	188,916	95	1,306	3,811	9,200	33,507	136,129	19,280
1998	3,282,000	185,323	13,778	171,545	126	1,307	3,452	8,893	30,442	123,841	17,262
1999	3,316,154	165,866	12,432	153,434	88	1,219	2,858	8,267	26,749	113,052	13,633
2000	3,421,399	165,780	12,000	153,780	70	1,286	2,888	7,756	25,618	114,230	13,932
2001	3,473,441	175,174	10,650	164,524	84	1,174	2,749	6,643	26,648	123,034	14,842
2002	3,520,355	171,443	10,298	161,145	73	1,238	2,742	6,246	25,696	118,925	16,524
2003	3,564,330	180,369	10,506	169,863	68	1,218	2,847	6,373	28,562	122,327	18,974
2004	3,591,363	177,199	10,724	166,475	90	1,283	2,751	6,600	30,072	117,868	18,535
2005	3,638,871	170,643	10,444	160,199	80	1,266	2,478	6,620	27,621	113,316	19,262
2006	3,700,758	145,168	10,373	135,895	86	1,195	2,689	6,403	23,879	97,556	14,460
2007	3,747,455	142,920	10,777	132,143	73	1,255	2,862	6,587	22,821	94,773	14,549
2008	3,790,060	134,144	9,747	124,397	82	1,156	2,641	5,868	20,879	92,187	11,311
2009	3,825,657	123,255	9,744	113,511	85	1,168	2,461	6,030	19,377	84,265	9,869

Capital punishment laws

The Oregon Constitution originally had no provision for a death penalty. A statute was enacted in 1864 allowing for the death penalty in cases of first degree murder. Authority to conduct executions was initially granted to local sheriffs, but in 1903, the Oregon Legislative Assembly passed a law requiring all executions to be conducted at the Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem, the first state prison in Oregon which opened in 1866.{{cite web

|title=History of Capital Punishment in Oregon

|publisher=Oregon.gov

|url=http://www.oregon.gov/DOC/PUBAFF/cap_punishment/history.shtml#N_2_

|url-status=dead

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060616183816/http://www.oregon.gov/DOC/PUBAFF/cap_punishment/history.shtml#N_2_

|archive-date=June 16, 2006

}}

Oregon voters amended the Constitution in 1914 to repeal the death penalty, with 50.04% of the vote. The repeal was an initiative of Governor Oswald West.{{cite book

|title=Oregon: Her History, Her Great Men, Her Literature

|first=John B.

|last=Horner

|year=1919

|publisher=Press of the Gazette-Times

|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_J8IdAAAAMAAJ

|pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_J8IdAAAAMAAJ/page/n313 313]

}} The death penalty was restored, again by constitutional amendment, in 1920.

Initially, all executions were performed by hanging; lethal gas was adopted as the method after 1931.

Voters outlawed the death penalty in the general election of 1964, with 60% of the vote. Governor Mark Hatfield commuted the sentences of three death row inmates two days later.

Notable cases

=Criminals=

class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"
scope="col" style="width: 9em;"\| Name ! scope="col" style="width: 3em;"\| Lifespan ! scope="col" style="width: 10em;"\| Crime(s) ! scope="col" style="width: 20em;" class="unsortable"\| Notes ! scope="col" style="width: 1em;" class="unsortable"\| {{abbr\|Ref.\|Reference(s)}}
{{sortname\|John Arthur\|Ackroyd}} \| 1949{{en dash}}2016 \| Murder \| Convicted of the murder of Kaye Turner and a settlement was reached for the murder of his stepdaughter Rachanda Pickle. He is believed to have been involved in the disappearance of other girls and women, collectively called the Ghosts of Highway 20. \|align=center\|{{Cite news \|last=Crombie \|first=Noelle \|date=December 31, 2016 \|title=Inmate convicted in notorious Christmas jogger murder found dead in cell \|language=en \|work=The Oregonian \|url=https://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/2016/12/post_252.html \|access-date=September 16, 2021}}
{{sortname\|Danford\|Balch}} \| 1811{{en dash}}1859 \| Murder \| Convicted of murdering his son-in-law, Mortimer Stump, in 1859; was the first person executed by hanging in Portland. \| align=center\|{{cite book \| last = McArthur \| first = Lewis A. \| author-link = Lewis A. McArthur \|author2=Lewis L. McArthur \|author2-link=Lewis L. McArthur \| title = Oregon Geographic Names \| orig-year = 1928 \| edition = 7th \| year = 2003 \| publisher = Oregon Historical Society Press \| location = Portland, Oregon\| isbn = 0-87595-277-1 \| pages=46–47}}
{{sortname\|Ben\|Boloff}} \| 1893{{en dash}}1932 \| Criminal syndicalism \| Soviet Russian communist sentenced to ten years imprisonment. \| align=center\|{{cite book\|last=MacColl\|first=E. Kimbark\|title=The Growth of a City: Power and Politics in Portland, Oregon, 1915–1950\|year=1979\|publisher=Georgian Press\|location=Portland\|isbn=0960340815\|page=394}}
{{sortname\|Dallen\|Bounds}} \| 1971{{en dash}}1999 \| Serial murder \| Born in Ashland, but did not commit any known murders in Oregon; convicted of murders in Washington, North and South Carolina \| align=center\| {{cite web\|work=Crime Feed\|url=http://crimefeed.com/2017/08/dallen-bounds/\|title=Crime History: Serial Killer Dallen Bounds Killed Four Victims, Then Shot Himself\|date=August 9, 2017\|author=Townsend, Catherine\|publisher=Investigation Discovery\|access-date=March 22, 2018\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180323155859/http://crimefeed.com/2017/08/dallen-bounds/\|archive-date=March 23, 2018\|url-status=dead}}
{{sortname\|Jerry\|Brudos}} \| 1939{{en dash}}2006 \| Serial murder, necrophilia \| Committed multiple murders in Portland and Salem regions \| align=center\|{{cite journal\|author=Holmes, Ronald M.\|title= Sequential Predation: Elements of serial fatal victimization\|journal=Sexual Addiction & Compulsivity\|volume=4\|issue= 1\|date=January 1997\|pages= 33–42\|doi= 10.1080/10720169708400129}} {{doi\|10.1080/10720169708400129}}
{{sortname\|Ted\|Bundy}} \| 1946{{en dash}}1989 \| Serial murder, rape \| Born in Vermont; confirmed to have abducted and murdered one female from the Oregon State University campus in 1974.{{cite web\|work=Federal Bureau of Investigation\|publisher=FBI.gov\|title=FBI Records: The Vault: Ted Bundy\|url=https://vault.fbi.gov/Ted%20Bundy%20\|access-date=March 22, 2018}} Potentially responsible for additional unknown murders. \| align=center\|{{cite book \|last1 = Keppel\|first1 = Robert D.\|last2 = Michaud\|first2 = Stephen G.\|title = Terrible Secrets: Ted Bundy on Serial Murder\|year = 2011\|publisher = Authorlink Press\|location = Irving, Texas\|edition = Enhanced E-Book\|isbn = 978-1-928704-97-3\|page=337}}
{{sortname\|Robert Lee\|Burns}} \| 1930{{en dash}}2002 \| Murder, robbery \| Charged in 1963 robbery and murder of a police officer in California; subject of an extradition dispute between Oregon and California, but died before being extradited. \| align=center\|{{cite web\|work=San Francisco Chronicle\|url=https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Paying-for-the-past-States-argue-over-fate-of-2926901.php\|title=Paying for the past / States argue over fate of man convicted of murder in California, considered rehabilitated by Oregon\|author=Zamora, Jim Herron\|date=April 27, 2001\|access-date=March 22, 2018}}
{{sortname\|Scott William\|Cox}} \| 1963{{en dash}} \| Serial murder \| Convicted of two homicides in Portland in 1993, and suspected in at least 20 others in the Pacific Northwest. Paroled in 2013. \| align=center\|{{cite web\|work=KPTV\|url=http://www.kptv.com/story/23282348/police-convicted-killer-released-in-mcminnville-violated-his-parole\|title=Police: Convicted killer released in McMinnville violated his parole\|date=August 28, 2013\|access-date=March 22, 2018\|archive-date=March 30, 2017\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170330174751/http://www.kptv.com/story/23282348/police-convicted-killer-released-in-mcminnville-violated-his-parole\|url-status=dead}}
{{sortname\|Diane\|Downs}} \| 1955{{en dash}} \| Murder, attempted murder \| Shot and killed daughter in rural Springfield; attempted to kill her two other children. \| align=center\|{{cite web \| url=http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/famous/downs/5b.html \| title=Diane Downs: Her Children Got in the Way of Her Love' \| website=TruTV \| access-date=May 28, 2015 \| author=Geringer, Joseph\| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090304212650/http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/famous/downs/5b.html \| archive-date=March 4, 2009 \|url-status=dead}}
{{sortname\|Jim\|Elkins\|Jim Elkins (Oregon criminal)}} \| 1901{{en dash}}1968 \| Racketeering \| Portland mobster and crime boss. \| align=center\|{{cite book \|last=Donnelly\|first=Robert C.\|title=Dark Rose: Organized Crime and Corruption in Portland \|year=2011\|publisher=University of Washington Press\|location=Seattle\|isbn=978-0-295-99111-5\|pages=60–62}}
{{sortname\|John K.\|Giles}} \| 1895{{en dash}}1979 \| Murder \| Convicted of murder in Oregon; escaped, and was later transferred to Alcatraz Island. \| align=center\|{{cite book \|author=Simpson, Paul\|title=The Mammoth Book of Prison Breaks\|publisher=Hachette Book Group\|year=2013\|at=n.p.\|isbn= 978-1-472-10024-5\|oclc=863221636\|location=London}}
{{sortname\|George\|Hayford}} \| 1858{{en dash}}unknown \| Forgery \| Lawyer convicted of forgery in Oregon and California; falsely claimed to be Oregon Attorney General. Later arrested in Harlem, New York City and Washington, D.C. \| align=center\|{{cite news\|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/79621212/?terms=%22George%2BHayford%22\|title=A Slick Swindler\|work=Weekly Oregon Statesman\|location=Portland\|date= February 23, 1900\|page=7\|via=Newspapers.com}} {{closed access}}
{{sortname\|Keith Hunter\|Jesperson}} \| 1955{{en dash}} \| Serial murder \| Also known as the "Happy Face Killer"; committed at least two murders in Oregon, and is serving life sentence at Oregon State Penitentiary. \| align=center\| Kreuger, Peggy; Kendra Justice & Amy Hunt (March 2006). "[http://maamodt.asp.radford.edu/Psyc%20405/serial%20killers/Jesperson,%20Keith%20-%20spring,%2006.pdf Keith Hunter Jesperson: Happy Face Killer]" (PDF). Radford University Department of Psychology. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
Charity Lamb \|{{Circa\|1818}}{{en dash}}1879 \|Murder \|First woman convicted of murder in Oregon Territory. \|{{Cite web\|url=https://oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/lamb_charity_1879_/#.XTusIehKhPZ\|title=Charity Lamb (?-1879)\|last=Lansing\|first=Ronald B.\|date=March 17, 2018\|website=oregonencyclopedia.org\|access-date=July 26, 2019}}
{{sortname\|Richard Laurence\|Marquette}} \| 1932{{en dash}} \| Serial murder \| Convicted of murdering and dismembering three women in Portland in the 1960s and 1970s. He was the first person to be added as an eleventh name on the FBI Ten Most Wanted List. \| align=center\| {{cite book\| last = Rule\| first = Ann\| title = A Rose for Her Grave and Other True Cases\| year = 1993\| publisher = Simon and Schuster\| isbn = 978-0-671-79353-1\| chapter = Rehabilitation of a Monster\| pages = [https://archive.org/details/roseforhergraveo01rule/page/441 441–75]}}
{{sortname\|Harry Charles\|Moore}} \| 1941{{en dash}}1997 \| Murder \| Second person executed in the state of Oregon since 1978 for murders of Thomas Lauri and Barbara Cunningham. \| align=center\|{{cite web\|work=The New York Times\|title=Oregon Executes a Killer\|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/05/17/us/oregon-executes-a-killer.html\|access-date=March 22, 2018\|date=May 17, 1997\|agency=Associated Press}}
{{sortname\|Dayton Leroy\|Rogers}} \| 1953{{en dash}} \| Serial murder \| Murdered at least 6 women near Molalla between 1983 and 1987. Also known as the "Molalla Forest Killer." \| align=center\|{{cite web\|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/05/05/us/national-news-briefs-oregon-serial-killer-must-be-resentenced.html\|date=May 5, 2000\|title=Oregon Serial Killer Must Be Resentenced\|agency=Associated Press\|work=The New York Times\|access-date=March 22, 2018}}
{{sortname\|Ward\|Weaver III}} \| 1963{{en dash}} \| Murder \| Committed 2002 murders of Ashley Pond and Miranda Gaddis in Oregon City. \| align=center\|{{cite web\|work=Los Angeles Times\|title=Behavior May Leave a Mark on Genes\|access-date=February 9, 2018\|author1=Hotz, Robert Lee \|author2= Johnson, John\|date=28 June 2003 \|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-jun-28-sci-weaver28-story.html}}
{{sortname\|Randall\|Woodfield}} \| 1950{{en dash}} \| Serial murder, rape, robbery \| Committed multiple crimes along Interstate 5 in Oregon, Washington, and California; estimated to have murdered over 44 people. \| align=center\|{{cite magazine\|magazine=Sports Illustrated\|date=November 21, 2016\|url=https://www.si.com/longform/true-crime/i-5-killer-green-bay-packers-randall-woodfield/index.html\|title=The I-5 Killer\|access-date=February 9, 2018\|author=Wertheim, L. John}}
{{sortname\|Douglas Franklin\|Wright}} \| 1940{{en dash}}1996 \| Serial murder \| First criminal executed by lethal injection in Oregon. Lured three homeless men to Warm Springs Indian Reservation and murdered them in 1993; confessed to the murder of fourth homeless man. Also committed double murder in 1969 in Portland. \| align=center\| {{cite web\|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/09/07/us/oregon-and-south-carolina-execute-killers.html\|work=The New York Times\|date=September 7, 1996\|title=Oregon and South Carolina Execute Killers\|agency=Associated Press\|access-date=March 22, 2018}}

class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"

scope="col" style="width: 9em;"| Name

! scope="col" style="width: 3em;"| Lifespan

! scope="col" style="width: 10em;"| Crime(s)

! scope="col" style="width: 20em;" class="unsortable"| Notes

! scope="col" style="width: 1em;" class="unsortable"| {{abbr|Ref.|Reference(s)}}

| 1949{{en dash}}2016

| Murder

| Convicted of the murder of Kaye Turner and a settlement was reached for the murder of his stepdaughter Rachanda Pickle. He is believed to have been involved in the disappearance of other girls and women, collectively called the Ghosts of Highway 20.

|align=center|{{Cite news |last=Crombie |first=Noelle |date=December 31, 2016 |title=Inmate convicted in notorious Christmas jogger murder found dead in cell |language=en |work=The Oregonian |url=https://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/2016/12/post_252.html |access-date=September 16, 2021}}

| 1811{{en dash}}1859

| Murder

| Convicted of murdering his son-in-law, Mortimer Stump, in 1859; was the first person executed by hanging in Portland.

| align=center|{{cite book | last = McArthur | first = Lewis A. | author-link = Lewis A. McArthur |author2=Lewis L. McArthur |author2-link=Lewis L. McArthur | title = Oregon Geographic Names | orig-year = 1928 | edition = 7th | year = 2003 | publisher = Oregon Historical Society Press | location = Portland, Oregon| isbn = 0-87595-277-1 | pages=46–47}}

| 1893{{en dash}}1932

| Criminal syndicalism

| Soviet Russian communist sentenced to ten years imprisonment.

| align=center|{{cite book|last=MacColl|first=E. Kimbark|title=The Growth of a City: Power and Politics in Portland, Oregon, 1915–1950|year=1979|publisher=Georgian Press|location=Portland|isbn=0960340815|page=394}}

| 1971{{en dash}}1999

| Serial murder

| Born in Ashland, but did not commit any known murders in Oregon; convicted of murders in Washington, North and South Carolina

| align=center| {{cite web|work=Crime Feed|url=http://crimefeed.com/2017/08/dallen-bounds/|title=Crime History: Serial Killer Dallen Bounds Killed Four Victims, Then Shot Himself|date=August 9, 2017|author=Townsend, Catherine|publisher=Investigation Discovery|access-date=March 22, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180323155859/http://crimefeed.com/2017/08/dallen-bounds/|archive-date=March 23, 2018|url-status=dead}}

| 1939{{en dash}}2006

| Serial murder, necrophilia

| Committed multiple murders in Portland and Salem regions

| align=center|{{cite journal|author=Holmes, Ronald M.|title= Sequential Predation: Elements of serial fatal victimization|journal=Sexual Addiction & Compulsivity|volume=4|issue= 1|date=January 1997|pages= 33–42|doi= 10.1080/10720169708400129}} {{doi|10.1080/10720169708400129}}

| 1946{{en dash}}1989

| Serial murder, rape

| Born in Vermont; confirmed to have abducted and murdered one female from the Oregon State University campus in 1974.{{cite web|work=Federal Bureau of Investigation|publisher=FBI.gov|title=FBI Records: The Vault: Ted Bundy|url=https://vault.fbi.gov/Ted%20Bundy%20|access-date=March 22, 2018}} Potentially responsible for additional unknown murders.

| align=center|{{cite book

|last1 = Keppel|first1 = Robert D.|last2 = Michaud|first2 = Stephen G.|title = Terrible Secrets: Ted Bundy on Serial Murder|year = 2011|publisher = Authorlink Press|location = Irving, Texas|edition = Enhanced E-Book|isbn = 978-1-928704-97-3|page=337}}

| 1930{{en dash}}2002

| Murder, robbery

| Charged in 1963 robbery and murder of a police officer in California; subject of an extradition dispute between Oregon and California, but died before being extradited.

| align=center|{{cite web|work=San Francisco Chronicle|url=https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Paying-for-the-past-States-argue-over-fate-of-2926901.php|title=Paying for the past / States argue over fate of man convicted of murder in California, considered rehabilitated by Oregon|author=Zamora, Jim Herron|date=April 27, 2001|access-date=March 22, 2018}}

| 1963{{en dash}}

| Serial murder

| Convicted of two homicides in Portland in 1993, and suspected in at least 20 others in the Pacific Northwest. Paroled in 2013.

| align=center|{{cite web|work=KPTV|url=http://www.kptv.com/story/23282348/police-convicted-killer-released-in-mcminnville-violated-his-parole|title=Police: Convicted killer released in McMinnville violated his parole|date=August 28, 2013|access-date=March 22, 2018|archive-date=March 30, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170330174751/http://www.kptv.com/story/23282348/police-convicted-killer-released-in-mcminnville-violated-his-parole|url-status=dead}}

| 1955{{en dash}}

| Murder, attempted murder

| Shot and killed daughter in rural Springfield; attempted to kill her two other children.

| align=center|{{cite web | url=http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/famous/downs/5b.html | title=Diane Downs: Her Children Got in the Way of Her Love' | website=TruTV | access-date=May 28, 2015 | author=Geringer, Joseph| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090304212650/http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/famous/downs/5b.html | archive-date=March 4, 2009 |url-status=dead}}

| 1901{{en dash}}1968

| Racketeering

| Portland mobster and crime boss.

| align=center|{{cite book |last=Donnelly|first=Robert C.|title=Dark Rose: Organized Crime and Corruption in Portland |year=2011|publisher=University of Washington Press|location=Seattle|isbn=978-0-295-99111-5|pages=60–62}}

| 1895{{en dash}}1979

| Murder

| Convicted of murder in Oregon; escaped, and was later transferred to Alcatraz Island.

| align=center|{{cite book |author=Simpson, Paul|title=The Mammoth Book of Prison Breaks|publisher=Hachette Book Group|year=2013|at=n.p.|isbn= 978-1-472-10024-5|oclc=863221636|location=London}}

| 1858{{en dash}}unknown

| Forgery

| Lawyer convicted of forgery in Oregon and California; falsely claimed to be Oregon Attorney General. Later arrested in Harlem, New York City and Washington, D.C.

| align=center|{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/79621212/?terms=%22George%2BHayford%22|title=A Slick Swindler|work=Weekly Oregon Statesman|location=Portland|date= February 23, 1900|page=7|via=Newspapers.com}} {{closed access}}

| 1955{{en dash}}

| Serial murder

| Also known as the "Happy Face Killer"; committed at least two murders in Oregon, and is serving life sentence at Oregon State Penitentiary.

| align=center| Kreuger, Peggy; Kendra Justice & Amy Hunt (March 2006). "[http://maamodt.asp.radford.edu/Psyc%20405/serial%20killers/Jesperson,%20Keith%20-%20spring,%2006.pdf Keith Hunter Jesperson: Happy Face Killer]" (PDF). Radford University Department of Psychology. Retrieved August 21, 2010.

Charity Lamb

|{{Circa|1818}}{{en dash}}1879

|Murder

|First woman convicted of murder in Oregon Territory.

|{{Cite web|url=https://oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/lamb_charity_1879_/#.XTusIehKhPZ|title=Charity Lamb (?-1879)|last=Lansing|first=Ronald B.|date=March 17, 2018|website=oregonencyclopedia.org|access-date=July 26, 2019}}

| 1932{{en dash}}

| Serial murder

| Convicted of murdering and dismembering three women in Portland in the 1960s and 1970s. He was the first person to be added as an eleventh name on the FBI Ten Most Wanted List.

| align=center| {{cite book| last = Rule| first = Ann| title = A Rose for Her Grave and Other True Cases| year = 1993| publisher = Simon and Schuster| isbn = 978-0-671-79353-1| chapter = Rehabilitation of a Monster| pages = [https://archive.org/details/roseforhergraveo01rule/page/441 441–75]}}

| 1941{{en dash}}1997

| Murder

| Second person executed in the state of Oregon since 1978 for murders of Thomas Lauri and Barbara Cunningham.

| align=center|{{cite web|work=The New York Times|title=Oregon Executes a Killer|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/05/17/us/oregon-executes-a-killer.html|access-date=March 22, 2018|date=May 17, 1997|agency=Associated Press}}

| 1953{{en dash}}

| Serial murder

| Murdered at least 6 women near Molalla between 1983 and 1987. Also known as the "Molalla Forest Killer."

| align=center|{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/05/05/us/national-news-briefs-oregon-serial-killer-must-be-resentenced.html|date=May 5, 2000|title=Oregon Serial Killer Must Be Resentenced|agency=Associated Press|work=The New York Times|access-date=March 22, 2018}}

| 1963{{en dash}}

| Murder

| Committed 2002 murders of Ashley Pond and Miranda Gaddis in Oregon City.

| align=center|{{cite web|work=Los Angeles Times|title=Behavior May Leave a Mark on Genes|access-date=February 9, 2018|author1=Hotz, Robert Lee |author2= Johnson, John|date=28 June 2003 |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-jun-28-sci-weaver28-story.html}}

| 1950{{en dash}}

| Serial murder, rape, robbery

| Committed multiple crimes along Interstate 5 in Oregon, Washington, and California; estimated to have murdered over 44 people.

| align=center|{{cite magazine|magazine=Sports Illustrated|date=November 21, 2016|url=https://www.si.com/longform/true-crime/i-5-killer-green-bay-packers-randall-woodfield/index.html|title=The I-5 Killer|access-date=February 9, 2018|author=Wertheim, L. John}}

| 1940{{en dash}}1996

| Serial murder

| First criminal executed by lethal injection in Oregon. Lured three homeless men to Warm Springs Indian Reservation and murdered them in 1993; confessed to the murder of fourth homeless man. Also committed double murder in 1969 in Portland.

| align=center| {{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/09/07/us/oregon-and-south-carolina-execute-killers.html|work=The New York Times|date=September 7, 1996|title=Oregon and South Carolina Execute Killers|agency=Associated Press|access-date=March 22, 2018}}

=Crimes=

class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"
scope="col" style="width: .5em;"\| Year(s) ! scope="col" style="width: 12em;"\| Incident / victim(s) ! scope="col" style="width: 10em;"\| Location(s) ! scope="col" style="width: 20em;" class="unsortable"\| Notes ! scope="col" style="width: 1em;" class="unsortable"\| {{abbr\|Ref.\|Reference(s)}}
1844 \| Murder of George LeBreton \| Oregon City \| Massachusetts-born pioneer and Oregon politician killed in the Cockstock Incident. \| align=center\|{{cite journal\|title=A Brief History of the Oregon Provisional Government and What Caused Its Formation\|journal=The Quarterly of the Oregon Historical Society\|author=Holman, Frederick V.\|volume=13\|number=2\|date=June 1912\|pages=89–139\|jstor=20609900}}
1887 \| Hells Canyon Massacre \| Hells Canyon \| Massacre of thirty-four Chinese goldminers by members of a white horse gang. \| align=center\|{{cite web\|work=The New York Times\|title=Files Found in Oregon Detail Massacre of Chinese\|date=August 20, 1995\|access-date=March 22, 2018\|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/08/20/us/files-found-in-oregon-detail-massacre-of-chinese.html\|agency=Associated Press}}
1895{{en dash}}1905 \| Sheepshooters' War \| Crook County \| Range war between cattle men and sheepherders. Resulted in the killing of over 10,000 sheep and several farmers. \| align=center\| {{cite book\|last=Tupper\|first=Melany\|publisher=Central Oregon Books\|title=The Sandy Knoll Murder, Legacy of the Sheepshooters\|pages=2–20, 75\|year=2010\|isbn=978-0-983-16912-3}}
1911 \| Ardenwald axe murders \| Ardenwald \| William Hill, his wife Ruth, and their two children were found bludgeoned to death with an axe. Nathan Harvey, a landowner, was charged with their murders on December 20, 1911, but these charges were dropped after one week. In 1917, a man named William Riggin confessed to having participated in the murders, but provided significantly varied accounts that were inconsistent with one another. \| align=center\| {{cite news\|title= Grand Jury Takes Hand In Investigating Mystery\|work=The Anaconda Standard\|date=February 2, 1912\|page=6\|author=\|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-anaconda-standard/41379019/\|via=Newspapers.com}}
1924 \| Lava Lake murders \| Deschutes National Forest \| Triple-murder of three fur trappers near Big Lava Lake; one of the oldest unsolved murder cases in Oregon history. \| align=center\| {{cite news\|title=After 37 years, Lava Lake case unsolved\|work=The Bend Bulletin\|date=August 2, 1961\|page=9\|author=LeBlanc, Suzi\|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1243&dat=19610802&id=glZYAAAAIBAJ&pg=1348,749744\|via=Google News}} {{free access}}
1946 \| Oak Grove Jane Doe \| Oak Grove \| Unidentified unsolved murder; victim discovered dismembered in the Willamette River over a six-month period. \| align=center\|{{cite web\|work=KOIN\|url=http://www.koin.com/news/unsolved-the-case-of-the-1946-willamette-river-torso_20171130084735662/870067267\|title=Unsolved: The Case of the 1946 Willamette River torso\|date=February 28, 2017\|access-date=March 21, 2018\|author=Gianola, Jeff\|archive-url=https://archive.today/20180323010200/http://www.koin.com/news/unsolved-the-case-of-the-1946-willamette-river-torso_20171130084735662/870067267\|archive-date=March 23, 2018\|url-status=dead}}
1949 \| Murder of Thelma Taylor \| St. Johns \| Teenage murder victim abducted and killed in St. Johns. Her killer, Morris Leland, was executed for her murder in 1953. \| align=center\|{{cite news\|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1310&dat=19530105&id=AyVWAAAAIBAJ&pg=2249,5139737\|newspaper=Eugene Register-Guard\|date=January 5, 1953\|access-date=September 19, 2013\|page=7A\|title=Oregon's Next Executions Set\|via=Google News}} {{free access}}
1960 \| Murders of Larry Peyton and Beverly Allan \| Portland \| On the evening of November 26, 1960, Larry Ralph Peyton and his girlfriend, Beverly Ann Allan, disappeared, their bodies both being found dead within 3 months of each other. A witness identified as "Nikki Essex" accused brothers Edward and Carl Jorgensen of having committed the crime. Police also arrested a third man, Robert Gordon Brom. Carl was ultimately acquitted of first-degree murder, while Edward and Brom were both convicted of first-degree murder. \| align=center\|{{cite news\|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/statesman-journal/25716703/\|newspaper=Statesman Journal-Guard\|date=December 23, 1972\|access-date=November 4, 2024\|page=7A\|title=Peyton-Allen Figure Has Parole Withheld\|via=Google News}} {{free access}}
1974 \| Cowden family murders \| Copper \| Family of four murdered while camping in the Siskiyou Mountains; murders remain unsolved. \| align=center\|{{cite book\|last=Rule\|first=Ann\|author-link=Ann Rule\|title=But I Trusted You, and Other Case Files\|publisher=Simon and Schuster\|location=New York\|year=2009\|isbn= 978-1-439-16054-1\|page=425}}
1974 \| Murder of Martha Morrison \| Portland \| Teenage murder victim who disappeared in Portland in 1974. Remains discovered in late 1974 in Vancouver, Washington, alongside another body. She remained unidentified until 2015, Warren Forrest was convicted of her murder on February 1, 2023. \| align=center\|{{cite news\|last1=Gillespie\|first1=Emily\|title=Remains of homicide victim found near Vancouver identified after 41 years\|url=http://www.columbian.com/news/2015/jul/13/vancouver-murder-victim-remains-martha-morrison/\|access-date=March 21, 2018\|work=The Columbian\|date=July 13, 2015}}
1981 \| Oregon Museum Tavern shooting \| Salem \| Shooting inside of the Oregon Museum Tavern, resulting in the deaths of 4 people and 18 injuries at the scene. Shooter Lawrence William Moore was subsequently found guilty of four counts of aggravated murder and sentenced to four life terms in prison. Victim Dennis Scharf died on January 19, 2013, due to complications from injuries he sustained in the shooting. \| align=center\|{{cite news\|last1=DeWitt\|first1=Joce\|title=32 years later, Oregon bar shooting victim dies\|url=https://kval.com/news/local/32-years-later-oregon-bar-shooting-victim-dies\|access-date=November 4, 2024\|work=KVAL-13\|date=January 31, 2013}}
1984 \| Rajneeshee bioterror attack \| The Dalles \| Followers of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh deliberately contaminated various eateries with Salmonella, resulting in 751 infections and 45 hospitalizations. \| align=center\|{{cite book \|last=Urbano \|first=Mary Theresa \|title=The Complete Bioterrorism Survival Guide \|publisher=Sentient Publications \|year=2006 \|pages=[https://archive.org/details/completebioterro0000urba/page/60 60–61] \|isbn=1-59181-051-5 \|url=https://archive.org/details/completebioterro0000urba/page/60 }}
1988 \| Murder of Mulugeta Seraw \| Portland \| Ethiopian immigrant murdered by three white supremacists; Kenneth Murray Mieske, Kyle Brewster, and Steve Strasser were convicted of his murder in 1990. \| align=center\|{{cite news \| url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30614F63E550C768EDDAB0994D8494D81 \| title=Assets of White Supremacist Are Target of Legal Maneuver \| work=The New York Times \|date=December 25, 1990 \| access-date = March 22, 2018}}
1989 \|Murder of Michael Francke \| Salem \| Director of the Oregon Department of Corrections, stabbed to death outside department building. Murder remains unsolved. \| align=center\| {{cite news\|work=The Eugene Register-Guard\|location=Eugene, Oregon\|title=Defense seeks delay in Francke case\|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1310&dat=19901006&id=LQIzAAAAIBAJ&pg=6123,945603\|page=5B\|date=October 6, 1990\|via=Google News}} {{free access}}
1991 \|Disappearance of Thomas Gibson \| Azalea \| Disappearance of a 2 year old American child named Thomas Gibson who vanished from his front yard in Douglas County, Oregon. Larry Gibson, his father and a sheriff of the county, was convicted on manslaughter in March 1995, after his eldest daughter told law enforcement that she had witnessed her father beating Thomas outside on the day of his disappearance. He served less than one year before being released from jail, starting a webpage sometime in 2001 regarding Thomas's disappearance. Thomas has never been found. \| align=center\| {{cite news\|work=The Orlando Sentinel\|location=Glendale, Oregon\|title=Father's in jail but town wants to find boy's body\|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-orlando-sentinel/49968006/\|page=A-14\|date=March 18, 1995\|via=Newspapers.com}}
1994 \| Leathers Oil Company murders \| Gresham \| On the morning of January 17, 1994, a customer entered the Leathers Oil Company gas station and discovered the bodies of three employees, found executed. Suspect Tyrom Thies disappeared on February 9, 1994 and has not been seen since. His cousin Lawrence Benjamin Scherf, and friend, Lori Ann Stephens, were both convicted and served ten years in prison for their roles as accessories to the murders. \| align=center\|{{cite web \|url=https://www.koin.com/archives/cold-case-greshams-most-gruesome-murder/ \|title=Cold Case: Gresham’s most gruesome murder \|access-date=October 24, 2024 }}
1994 \| Gresham cat hostage taking incident \| Gresham \| Incident involving an emotionally disturbed 28-year-old woman named Janet Marilyn Smith, who took her own pet cat hostage in a Fred Meyer store in Gresham, Oregon. Police sprayed her in the face with three cans of pepper mace in an attempt to stop her. Smith cried out and then raised the knife above her head, subsequently being shot by Gresham Police officer Ron Willis, being pronounced dead at the scene. The public reacted angrily to the shooting with much criticism being directed at the Gresham Police department. \| align=center\|{{cite web \| work=New York Times \|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/08/23/us/cat-hostage-holder-is-shot.html \|title=Cat-Hostage Holder Is Shot \|access-date=October 24, 2024 }}
1995 \| Murder of Yolanda Panek \| Portland \| Murder and disappearance of an American woman who vanished from the Capri Motel in Portland, Oregon on July 13, 1995. The day after she was last seen checking into the hotel, her locked car was found abandoned with her two-year-old son inside, alive. Her boyfriend and common-law husband, Abdur Rashid Al-Wadud, was convicted of her murder in March 1996. \| align=center\|{{cite web\|work=Statesman Journal\|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/statesman-journal/49976979/\|title=Man arraigned in disappearance\|date=July 22, 1995\|access-date=November 6, 2024\|via=Newspapers.com }}
1995 \| Murders of Roxanne Ellis and Michelle Abdill \| Medford \| Hate crime murder of lesbian couple. Robert Acremant convicted of their murders and sentenced to death in 1996; sentence later reduced to life without parole. \| align=center\|{{cite web \|url=http://www.publications.ojd.state.or.us/S44772.htm \|title=State of Oregon v. Robert Acremant \|access-date=July 31, 2007 \|date=March 17, 2005 \|publisher=Oregon Judicial Department \|url-status=dead \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070808101839/http://www.publications.ojd.state.or.us/S44772.htm \|archive-date=August 8, 2007 }}
1998 \| 1998 Thurston High School shooting \| Springfield \| On May 20, 1998, 15-year-old freshman student Kipland Kinkel killed his parents; a day later heading to Thurston High School and opening fire with a semi-automatic rifle in the cafeteria, killing 2 students and injuring 25 before students subdued him, leading to his arrest. Kinkel pled guilty to murder and attempted murder and was sentenced to 111 years in prison without the possibility of parole. \| align=center\|{{cite web\|title=The Killer at Thurston High: Who is Kip Kinkel?\|publisher=PBS\|work=Frontline\|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/kinkel/kip/cron.html\|access-date=June 24, 2007}}
2004 \| Murder of Brooke Wilberger \| Corvallis \| One of the most publicized murder investigations in Oregon history. Joel Patrick Courtney was convicted of her murder in 2009. \| align=center\| {{cite web \| last=Netter \| first=Sarah \| work=ABC News \| title=Brooke Wilberger Found: Killer Gives Location of Remains to Avoid Death Penalty \| url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/remains-brooke-wilberger-found-years-disappearance/story?id=8632233 \|access-date=September 21, 2009}}
2008 \| Woodburn bank bombing \| Woodburn \| Bank explosion in a West Coast Bank branch, which killed 2 police officers and seriously injured a third. Father and son Bruce and Joshua Turnidge were convicted of the bombing in 2011; both being sentenced to death row. \| align=center\| {{cite web \| last=Lynn \| first=Capi \| work=Statesman Journal \| title=Turnidge case closed, but not forgotten \| url=https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/living/2015/01/15/turnidge-case-closed-but-not-forgotten-woodburn-oregon-bombing-five-years-later/21809787/ \|access-date=January 15, 2015}}
2010 \| 2010 Portland car bomb plot \| Portland \| Foiled terrorist plot to set off a car bomb in Pioneer Courthouse Square, Portland. Somali-American Mohamed Osman Mohamud was charged with attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction, and sentenced to 30 years. \| align=center\| Staff report (November 27, 2010). [http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2010/11/2010112764714953451.html US 'foils Oregon bomb plot.'] Al-Jazeera
2012 \| Clackamas Town Center shooting \| Clackamas \| Mass shooting at the Clackamas Town Center shopping mall; resulting in three deaths (including the perpetrator; Jacob Tyler Roberts). Around 8,000-10,000 people were in the mall at the time, it is believed Roberts targeted random people and did not have a specific target in mind. \| align=center\|{{cite news\|last1=Johnston\|first1=Ian\|last2=Raftery\|first2=Isolde\|title=Two people shot to death at mall in Portland, Oregon; gunman also dies\|date=December 11, 2012\|work=NBC News\|url=http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/11/15849093-two-people-shot-to-death-at-mall-in-portland-oregon-gunman-also-dies?lite \|access-date=December 19, 2012}}
2013 \| Death of Richard Swanson \| Lincoln City \|Richard Swanson was a 42-year-old man who tried to dribble a soccer ball from the city of Seattle, to São Paulo. On May 14, 2013, he died after being hit by a pickup truck alongside U.S. Route 101 just outside Lincoln City, Oregon. Prior to this incident, the driver had numerous traffic-related violations according to Oregon court records, the jury found the driver not guilty. \| align=center\|{{cite news\|last=Bailey Jr.\|first=Everton\|title=Driver found not guilty in death of Seattle soccer fan struck while walking along U.S. 101 in Lincoln City\|date=November 21, 2014\|work=The Oregonian\|url=https://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/2014/11/driver_found_not_guilty_in_dea.html \|access-date=October 29, 2024}}
2015 \| 2015 Umpqua Community College shooting \| Roseburg \| Deadliest mass-shooting in Oregon history; Chris Harper-Mercer, a 26-year-old student who was enrolled at the school, fatally shot an assistant professor and eight students in a classroom. He injured eight others; while deliberately sparing a student's life so they could deliver a package from him to the police. After a brief shootout with Roseburg police, he committed suicide by shooting himself in the head with a weapon. \| align=center\|{{cite news\|last=Jackson\|first=Derrick Z.\|url= https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2015/10/02/the-shameful-irony-ore-mass-shooting/jmxRQInuhElMyJ9XOTsAmO/story.html \|title=The shameful irony of Ore. mass shooting\|work=The Boston Globe\|date=October 2, 2015 \|access-date= October 2, 2015}}
2016 \| Occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge \| Burns \| Armed occupation by a militia group of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, leading to a month long stand off. Around 40 people occupied the refuge, by February 11, all of the militants had surrendered or withdrawn from the occupation, with several leaders having been arrested after leaving the site; one of them, Robert LaVoy Finicum, was shot and killed during an attempt to arrest him after he reached toward a handgun concealed in his coat pocket, more than two dozen of the militants were charged with federal offenses including conspiracy to obstruct federal officers, firearms violations, theft, and depredation of federal property. \| align=center\|{{cite news\|last=Walker\|first=Peter\|url= https://theconversation.com/malheur-occupation-is-over-but-the-war-for-americas-public-lands-rages-on-54943 \|title=Malheur occupation is over, but the war for America’s public lands rages on\|work=The Conversation\|date=February 19, 2016 \|access-date= October 22, 2024}}
2016 \| Murder of Larnell Bruce \| Gresham \| Murder of a 19-year-old black teen named Larnell Bruce who was run over by a member of the European Kindred gang known as Russell Courtier, outside a 7-Eleven store in Gresham. Russell Courtier was sentenced to life with a minimum of 28 years, while his girlfriend Colleen Hunt received a 10-year sentence. \| align=center\|{{Cite news\|last=Green\|first=Aimee\|date=April 16, 2019\|title=Race-fueled murder with Jeep brings life sentence with 28-year minimum for Russell Courtier\|work=The Oregonian\|url=https://www.oregonlive.com/news/2019/04/race-fueled-hate-crime-murder-with-jeep-nets-russell-courtier-life-in-prison-with-28-year-minimum.html\|url-status=live\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200629201330/https://www.oregonlive.com/news/2019/04/race-fueled-hate-crime-murder-with-jeep-nets-russell-courtier-life-in-prison-with-28-year-minimum.html\|archive-date=June 29, 2020}}
2017 \| 2017 Portland train attack \| Portland \| Train stabbing which resulted in the deaths of 2 men, and serious injuries to another. Perpetrator Jeremy Joseph Christian had threatened a conductor and attacked a black woman on a different train the previous day, he was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences in June 2020. \| align=center\|{{cite web \| last=Green \| first=Aimee \| url=https://www.oregonlive.com/news/2020/02/jeremy-christian-guilty-on-all-counts-in-max-stabbings-trial.html \|title=Jeremy Christian guilty on all counts in max stabbings trial.\|work=The Oregonian\|date=February 21, 2020 \|access-date= February 21, 2020}}
2018 \| Murder of Daniel Brophy \| Portland \| On the morning of June 2, 2018, Daniel Brophy left for work at the Oregon Culinary Institute, where he was a teacher. Students arrived later and found his body in a kitchen, dead from two gunshots. The death was investigated as a homicide. His wife, Nancy Crampton-Brophy was charged with his death. \| align=center\|{{cite web \| url=https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-portland-crime-oregon-arrests-80484ab764d163465a722af12f60ca98 \|title=Romance novelist goes on trial in fatal shooting of spouse\|work=AP News\|date=April 5, 2022 \|access-date= October 22, 2024}}
2020 \| Killing of Aaron Danielson \| Portland \| Death of Aaron Danielson, an American supporter of the far-right group Patriot Prayer, by a far-left Army veteran named Michael Reinoehl after his participation in a caravan which drove through Portland and clashed with participants in the local George Floyd protests. Reinoehl had admitted to killing Danielson in an interview shortly before his death, claiming it was in self-defense; although police said that Reinoehl had followed and targeted Danielson. Reinoehl was killed nearby Lacey, Washington, outside an apartment in a residential street shortly after. \| align=center\|{{cite news\|url=https://www.wweek.com/news/2020/09/04/portland-police-search-warrant-includes-new-details-about-fatal-shooting-of-aaron-danielson/\|title=Portland Police Arrest Warrant Includes New Details About Fatal Shooting of Aaron Danielson\|last=Jaquiss\|first=Nigel\|date=September 4, 2020\|newspaper=Willamette Week\|access-date=September 8, 2020}}
2022 \| Normandale Park shooting \| Portland \| On February 19, 2022, Benjamin Jeffrey Smith confronted a group of armed protesters and told them to leave or he would shoot them, before pulling a .45 caliber handgun and firing at close range into a crowd of safety volunteers at the edge of Normandale Park in Portland, Oregon; murdering one, causing the paralysis of another from the shoulders down, and seriously injuring three others. Smith was arrested and charged with second-degree murder, four counts of attempted murder, and several assault charges in connection with the shooting. \| align=center\|{{cite web \| url=https://www.oregonlive.com/crime/2022/03/accused-gunman-in-normandale-park-shooting-transferred-to-jail-on-9-count-indictment.html \|title=Accused gunman in Normandale Park shooting transferred to jail on 9-count indictment\|work=The Oregonian\|date=March 23, 2022 \|access-date= October 24, 2024}}
2022 \| 2022 Bend, Oregon shooting \| Bend \| Mass shooting at a Safeway grocery store in Bend, Oregon. Perpetrator Ethan Blair Miller killed two men, one of whom was an employee who attempted to stop him, he wounded two other people before committing suicide. Miller had previously worked in a Safeway. \| align=center\|{{cite web \| last=Romero / Li \| first=Dennis / David K. \| url=https://www.oregonlive.com/news/2020/02/jeremy-christian-guilty-on-all-counts-in-max-stabbings-trial.html \|title=3 dead, including suspected shooter, in Oregon grocery store attack \|work=NBC News\|date=August 28, 2022 \|access-date= August 29, 2022}}

class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"

scope="col" style="width: .5em;"| Year(s)

! scope="col" style="width: 12em;"| Incident / victim(s)

! scope="col" style="width: 10em;"| Location(s)

! scope="col" style="width: 20em;" class="unsortable"| Notes

! scope="col" style="width: 1em;" class="unsortable"| {{abbr|Ref.|Reference(s)}}

1844

| Murder of George LeBreton

| Oregon City

| Massachusetts-born pioneer and Oregon politician killed in the Cockstock Incident.

| align=center|{{cite journal|title=A Brief History of the Oregon Provisional Government and What Caused Its Formation|journal=The Quarterly of the Oregon Historical Society|author=Holman, Frederick V.|volume=13|number=2|date=June 1912|pages=89–139|jstor=20609900}}

1887

| Hells Canyon Massacre

| Hells Canyon

| Massacre of thirty-four Chinese goldminers by members of a white horse gang.

| align=center|{{cite web|work=The New York Times|title=Files Found in Oregon Detail Massacre of Chinese|date=August 20, 1995|access-date=March 22, 2018|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/08/20/us/files-found-in-oregon-detail-massacre-of-chinese.html|agency=Associated Press}}

1895{{en dash}}1905

| Sheepshooters' War

| Crook County

| Range war between cattle men and sheepherders. Resulted in the killing of over 10,000 sheep and several farmers.

| align=center| {{cite book|last=Tupper|first=Melany|publisher=Central Oregon Books|title=The Sandy Knoll Murder, Legacy of the Sheepshooters|pages=2–20, 75|year=2010|isbn=978-0-983-16912-3}}

1911

| Ardenwald axe murders

| Ardenwald

| William Hill, his wife Ruth, and their two children were found bludgeoned to death with an axe. Nathan Harvey, a landowner, was charged with their murders on December 20, 1911, but these charges were dropped after one week. In 1917, a man named William Riggin confessed to having participated in the murders, but provided significantly varied accounts that were inconsistent with one another.

| align=center| {{cite news|title= Grand Jury Takes Hand In Investigating Mystery|work=The Anaconda Standard|date=February 2, 1912|page=6|author=|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-anaconda-standard/41379019/|via=Newspapers.com}}

1924

| Lava Lake murders

| Deschutes National Forest

| Triple-murder of three fur trappers near Big Lava Lake; one of the oldest unsolved murder cases in Oregon history.

| align=center| {{cite news|title=After 37 years, Lava Lake case unsolved|work=The Bend Bulletin|date=August 2, 1961|page=9|author=LeBlanc, Suzi|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1243&dat=19610802&id=glZYAAAAIBAJ&pg=1348,749744|via=Google News}} {{free access}}

1946

| Oak Grove Jane Doe

| Oak Grove

| Unidentified unsolved murder; victim discovered dismembered in the Willamette River over a six-month period.

| align=center|{{cite web|work=KOIN|url=http://www.koin.com/news/unsolved-the-case-of-the-1946-willamette-river-torso_20171130084735662/870067267|title=Unsolved: The Case of the 1946 Willamette River torso|date=February 28, 2017|access-date=March 21, 2018|author=Gianola, Jeff|archive-url=https://archive.today/20180323010200/http://www.koin.com/news/unsolved-the-case-of-the-1946-willamette-river-torso_20171130084735662/870067267|archive-date=March 23, 2018|url-status=dead}}

1949

| Murder of Thelma Taylor

| St. Johns

| Teenage murder victim abducted and killed in St. Johns. Her killer, Morris Leland, was executed for her murder in 1953.

| align=center|{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1310&dat=19530105&id=AyVWAAAAIBAJ&pg=2249,5139737|newspaper=Eugene Register-Guard|date=January 5, 1953|access-date=September 19, 2013|page=7A|title=Oregon's Next Executions Set|via=Google News}} {{free access}}

1960

| Murders of Larry Peyton and Beverly Allan

| Portland

| On the evening of November 26, 1960, Larry Ralph Peyton and his girlfriend, Beverly Ann Allan, disappeared, their bodies both being found dead within 3 months of each other. A witness identified as "Nikki Essex" accused brothers Edward and Carl Jorgensen of having committed the crime. Police also arrested a third man, Robert Gordon Brom. Carl was ultimately acquitted of first-degree murder, while Edward and Brom were both convicted of first-degree murder.

| align=center|{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/statesman-journal/25716703/|newspaper=Statesman Journal-Guard|date=December 23, 1972|access-date=November 4, 2024|page=7A|title=Peyton-Allen Figure Has Parole Withheld|via=Google News}} {{free access}}

1974

| Cowden family murders

| Copper

| Family of four murdered while camping in the Siskiyou Mountains; murders remain unsolved.

| align=center|{{cite book|last=Rule|first=Ann|author-link=Ann Rule|title=But I Trusted You, and Other Case Files|publisher=Simon and Schuster|location=New York|year=2009|isbn= 978-1-439-16054-1|page=425}}

1974

| Murder of Martha Morrison

| Portland

| Teenage murder victim who disappeared in Portland in 1974. Remains discovered in late 1974 in Vancouver, Washington, alongside another body. She remained unidentified until 2015, Warren Forrest was convicted of her murder on February 1, 2023.

| align=center|{{cite news|last1=Gillespie|first1=Emily|title=Remains of homicide victim found near Vancouver identified after 41 years|url=http://www.columbian.com/news/2015/jul/13/vancouver-murder-victim-remains-martha-morrison/|access-date=March 21, 2018|work=The Columbian|date=July 13, 2015}}

1981

| Oregon Museum Tavern shooting

| Salem

| Shooting inside of the Oregon Museum Tavern, resulting in the deaths of 4 people and 18 injuries at the scene. Shooter Lawrence William Moore was subsequently found guilty of four counts of aggravated murder and sentenced to four life terms in prison. Victim Dennis Scharf died on January 19, 2013, due to complications from injuries he sustained in the shooting.

| align=center|{{cite news|last1=DeWitt|first1=Joce|title=32 years later, Oregon bar shooting victim dies|url=https://kval.com/news/local/32-years-later-oregon-bar-shooting-victim-dies|access-date=November 4, 2024|work=KVAL-13|date=January 31, 2013}}

1984

| Rajneeshee bioterror attack

| The Dalles

| Followers of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh deliberately contaminated various eateries with Salmonella, resulting in 751 infections and 45 hospitalizations.

| align=center|{{cite book |last=Urbano |first=Mary Theresa |title=The Complete Bioterrorism Survival Guide |publisher=Sentient Publications |year=2006 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/completebioterro0000urba/page/60 60–61] |isbn=1-59181-051-5 |url=https://archive.org/details/completebioterro0000urba/page/60 }}

1988

| Murder of Mulugeta Seraw

| Portland

| Ethiopian immigrant murdered by three white supremacists; Kenneth Murray Mieske, Kyle Brewster, and Steve Strasser were convicted of his murder in 1990.

| align=center|{{cite news | url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30614F63E550C768EDDAB0994D8494D81 | title=Assets of White Supremacist Are Target of Legal Maneuver | work=The New York Times |date=December 25, 1990 | access-date = March 22, 2018}}

1989

|Murder of Michael Francke

| Salem

| Director of the Oregon Department of Corrections, stabbed to death outside department building. Murder remains unsolved.

| align=center| {{cite news|work=The Eugene Register-Guard|location=Eugene, Oregon|title=Defense seeks delay in Francke case|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1310&dat=19901006&id=LQIzAAAAIBAJ&pg=6123,945603|page=5B|date=October 6, 1990|via=Google News}} {{free access}}

1991

|Disappearance of Thomas Gibson

| Azalea

| Disappearance of a 2 year old American child named Thomas Gibson who vanished from his front yard in Douglas County, Oregon. Larry Gibson, his father and a sheriff of the county, was convicted on manslaughter in March 1995, after his eldest daughter told law enforcement that she had witnessed her father beating Thomas outside on the day of his disappearance. He served less than one year before being released from jail, starting a webpage sometime in 2001 regarding Thomas's disappearance. Thomas has never been found.

| align=center| {{cite news|work=The Orlando Sentinel|location=Glendale, Oregon|title=Father's in jail but town wants to find boy's body|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-orlando-sentinel/49968006/|page=A-14|date=March 18, 1995|via=Newspapers.com}}

1994

| Leathers Oil Company murders

| Gresham

| On the morning of January 17, 1994, a customer entered the Leathers Oil Company gas station and discovered the bodies of three employees, found executed. Suspect Tyrom Thies disappeared on February 9, 1994 and has not been seen since. His cousin Lawrence Benjamin Scherf, and friend, Lori Ann Stephens, were both convicted and served ten years in prison for their roles as accessories to the murders.

| align=center|{{cite web |url=https://www.koin.com/archives/cold-case-greshams-most-gruesome-murder/ |title=Cold Case: Gresham’s most gruesome murder |access-date=October 24, 2024 }}

1994

| Gresham cat hostage taking incident

| Gresham

| Incident involving an emotionally disturbed 28-year-old woman named Janet Marilyn Smith, who took her own pet cat hostage in a Fred Meyer store in Gresham, Oregon. Police sprayed her in the face with three cans of pepper mace in an attempt to stop her. Smith cried out and then raised the knife above her head, subsequently being shot by Gresham Police officer Ron Willis, being pronounced dead at the scene. The public reacted angrily to the shooting with much criticism being directed at the Gresham Police department.

| align=center|{{cite web | work=New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/08/23/us/cat-hostage-holder-is-shot.html |title=Cat-Hostage Holder Is Shot |access-date=October 24, 2024 }}

1995

| Murder of Yolanda Panek

| Portland

| Murder and disappearance of an American woman who vanished from the Capri Motel in Portland, Oregon on July 13, 1995. The day after she was last seen checking into the hotel, her locked car was found abandoned with her two-year-old son inside, alive. Her boyfriend and common-law husband, Abdur Rashid Al-Wadud, was convicted of her murder in March 1996.

| align=center|{{cite web|work=Statesman Journal|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/statesman-journal/49976979/|title=Man arraigned in disappearance|date=July 22, 1995|access-date=November 6, 2024|via=Newspapers.com }}

1995

| Murders of Roxanne Ellis and Michelle Abdill

| Medford

| Hate crime murder of lesbian couple. Robert Acremant convicted of their murders and sentenced to death in 1996; sentence later reduced to life without parole.

| align=center|{{cite web |url=http://www.publications.ojd.state.or.us/S44772.htm |title=State of Oregon v. Robert Acremant |access-date=July 31, 2007 |date=March 17, 2005 |publisher=Oregon Judicial Department |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070808101839/http://www.publications.ojd.state.or.us/S44772.htm |archive-date=August 8, 2007 }}

1998

| 1998 Thurston High School shooting

| Springfield

| On May 20, 1998, 15-year-old freshman student Kipland Kinkel killed his parents; a day later heading to Thurston High School and opening fire with a semi-automatic rifle in the cafeteria, killing 2 students and injuring 25 before students subdued him, leading to his arrest. Kinkel pled guilty to murder and attempted murder and was sentenced to 111 years in prison without the possibility of parole.

| align=center|{{cite web|title=The Killer at Thurston High: Who is Kip Kinkel?|publisher=PBS|work=Frontline|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/kinkel/kip/cron.html|access-date=June 24, 2007}}

2004

| Murder of Brooke Wilberger

| Corvallis

| One of the most publicized murder investigations in Oregon history. Joel Patrick Courtney was convicted of her murder in 2009.

| align=center| {{cite web | last=Netter | first=Sarah | work=ABC News | title=Brooke Wilberger Found: Killer Gives Location of Remains to Avoid Death Penalty | url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/remains-brooke-wilberger-found-years-disappearance/story?id=8632233 |access-date=September 21, 2009}}

2008

| Woodburn bank bombing

| Woodburn

| Bank explosion in a West Coast Bank branch, which killed 2 police officers and seriously injured a third. Father and son Bruce and Joshua Turnidge were convicted of the bombing in 2011; both being sentenced to death row.

| align=center| {{cite web | last=Lynn | first=Capi | work=Statesman Journal | title=Turnidge case closed, but not forgotten | url=https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/living/2015/01/15/turnidge-case-closed-but-not-forgotten-woodburn-oregon-bombing-five-years-later/21809787/ |access-date=January 15, 2015}}

2010

| 2010 Portland car bomb plot

| Portland

| Foiled terrorist plot to set off a car bomb in Pioneer Courthouse Square, Portland. Somali-American Mohamed Osman Mohamud was charged with attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction, and sentenced to 30 years.

| align=center| Staff report (November 27, 2010). [http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2010/11/2010112764714953451.html US 'foils Oregon bomb plot.'] Al-Jazeera

2012

| Clackamas Town Center shooting

| Clackamas

| Mass shooting at the Clackamas Town Center shopping mall; resulting in three deaths (including the perpetrator; Jacob Tyler Roberts). Around 8,000-10,000 people were in the mall at the time, it is believed Roberts targeted random people and did not have a specific target in mind.

| align=center|{{cite news|last1=Johnston|first1=Ian|last2=Raftery|first2=Isolde|title=Two people shot to death at mall in Portland, Oregon; gunman also dies|date=December 11, 2012|work=NBC News|url=http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/11/15849093-two-people-shot-to-death-at-mall-in-portland-oregon-gunman-also-dies?lite |access-date=December 19, 2012}}

2013

| Death of Richard Swanson

| Lincoln City

|Richard Swanson was a 42-year-old man who tried to dribble a soccer ball from the city of Seattle, to São Paulo. On May 14, 2013, he died after being hit by a pickup truck alongside U.S. Route 101 just outside Lincoln City, Oregon. Prior to this incident, the driver had numerous traffic-related violations according to Oregon court records, the jury found the driver not guilty.

| align=center|{{cite news|last=Bailey Jr.|first=Everton|title=Driver found not guilty in death of Seattle soccer fan struck while walking along U.S. 101 in Lincoln City|date=November 21, 2014|work=The Oregonian|url=https://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/2014/11/driver_found_not_guilty_in_dea.html |access-date=October 29, 2024}}

2015

| 2015 Umpqua Community College shooting

| Roseburg

| Deadliest mass-shooting in Oregon history; Chris Harper-Mercer, a 26-year-old student who was enrolled at the school, fatally shot an assistant professor and eight students in a classroom. He injured eight others; while deliberately sparing a student's life so they could deliver a package from him to the police. After a brief shootout with Roseburg police, he committed suicide by shooting himself in the head with a weapon.

| align=center|{{cite news|last=Jackson|first=Derrick Z.|url= https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2015/10/02/the-shameful-irony-ore-mass-shooting/jmxRQInuhElMyJ9XOTsAmO/story.html |title=The shameful irony of Ore. mass shooting|work=The Boston Globe|date=October 2, 2015 |access-date= October 2, 2015}}

2016

| Occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge

| Burns

| Armed occupation by a militia group of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, leading to a month long stand off. Around 40 people occupied the refuge, by February 11, all of the militants had surrendered or withdrawn from the occupation, with several leaders having been arrested after leaving the site; one of them, Robert LaVoy Finicum, was shot and killed during an attempt to arrest him after he reached toward a handgun concealed in his coat pocket, more than two dozen of the militants were charged with federal offenses including conspiracy to obstruct federal officers, firearms violations, theft, and depredation of federal property.

| align=center|{{cite news|last=Walker|first=Peter|url= https://theconversation.com/malheur-occupation-is-over-but-the-war-for-americas-public-lands-rages-on-54943 |title=Malheur occupation is over, but the war for America’s public lands rages on|work=The Conversation|date=February 19, 2016 |access-date= October 22, 2024}}

2016

| Murder of Larnell Bruce

| Gresham

| Murder of a 19-year-old black teen named Larnell Bruce who was run over by a member of the European Kindred gang known as Russell Courtier, outside a 7-Eleven store in Gresham. Russell Courtier was sentenced to life with a minimum of 28 years, while his girlfriend Colleen Hunt received a 10-year sentence.

| align=center|{{Cite news|last=Green|first=Aimee|date=April 16, 2019|title=Race-fueled murder with Jeep brings life sentence with 28-year minimum for Russell Courtier|work=The Oregonian|url=https://www.oregonlive.com/news/2019/04/race-fueled-hate-crime-murder-with-jeep-nets-russell-courtier-life-in-prison-with-28-year-minimum.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200629201330/https://www.oregonlive.com/news/2019/04/race-fueled-hate-crime-murder-with-jeep-nets-russell-courtier-life-in-prison-with-28-year-minimum.html|archive-date=June 29, 2020}}

2017

| 2017 Portland train attack

| Portland

| Train stabbing which resulted in the deaths of 2 men, and serious injuries to another. Perpetrator Jeremy Joseph Christian had threatened a conductor and attacked a black woman on a different train the previous day, he was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences in June 2020.

| align=center|{{cite web | last=Green | first=Aimee | url=https://www.oregonlive.com/news/2020/02/jeremy-christian-guilty-on-all-counts-in-max-stabbings-trial.html |title=Jeremy Christian guilty on all counts in max stabbings trial.|work=The Oregonian|date=February 21, 2020 |access-date= February 21, 2020}}

2018

| Murder of Daniel Brophy

| Portland

| On the morning of June 2, 2018, Daniel Brophy left for work at the Oregon Culinary Institute, where he was a teacher. Students arrived later and found his body in a kitchen, dead from two gunshots. The death was investigated as a homicide. His wife, Nancy Crampton-Brophy was charged with his death.

| align=center|{{cite web | url=https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-portland-crime-oregon-arrests-80484ab764d163465a722af12f60ca98 |title=Romance novelist goes on trial in fatal shooting of spouse|work=AP News|date=April 5, 2022 |access-date= October 22, 2024}}

2020

| Killing of Aaron Danielson

| Portland

| Death of Aaron Danielson, an American supporter of the far-right group Patriot Prayer, by a far-left Army veteran named Michael Reinoehl after his participation in a caravan which drove through Portland and clashed with participants in the local George Floyd protests. Reinoehl had admitted to killing Danielson in an interview shortly before his death, claiming it was in self-defense; although police said that Reinoehl had followed and targeted Danielson. Reinoehl was killed nearby Lacey, Washington, outside an apartment in a residential street shortly after.

| align=center|{{cite news|url=https://www.wweek.com/news/2020/09/04/portland-police-search-warrant-includes-new-details-about-fatal-shooting-of-aaron-danielson/|title=Portland Police Arrest Warrant Includes New Details About Fatal Shooting of Aaron Danielson|last=Jaquiss|first=Nigel|date=September 4, 2020|newspaper=Willamette Week|access-date=September 8, 2020}}

2022

| Normandale Park shooting

| Portland

| On February 19, 2022, Benjamin Jeffrey Smith confronted a group of armed protesters and told them to leave or he would shoot them, before pulling a .45 caliber handgun and firing at close range into a crowd of safety volunteers at the edge of Normandale Park in Portland, Oregon; murdering one, causing the paralysis of another from the shoulders down, and seriously injuring three others. Smith was arrested and charged with second-degree murder, four counts of attempted murder, and several assault charges in connection with the shooting.

| align=center|{{cite web | url=https://www.oregonlive.com/crime/2022/03/accused-gunman-in-normandale-park-shooting-transferred-to-jail-on-9-count-indictment.html |title=Accused gunman in Normandale Park shooting transferred to jail on 9-count indictment|work=The Oregonian|date=March 23, 2022 |access-date= October 24, 2024}}

2022

| 2022 Bend, Oregon shooting

| Bend

| Mass shooting at a Safeway grocery store in Bend, Oregon. Perpetrator Ethan Blair Miller killed two men, one of whom was an employee who attempted to stop him, he wounded two other people before committing suicide. Miller had previously worked in a Safeway.

| align=center|{{cite web | last=Romero / Li | first=Dennis / David K. | url=https://www.oregonlive.com/news/2020/02/jeremy-christian-guilty-on-all-counts-in-max-stabbings-trial.html |title=3 dead, including suspected shooter, in Oregon grocery store attack |work=NBC News|date=August 28, 2022 |access-date= August 29, 2022}}

References

Category:Crimes in Oregon

Category:History of Oregon