Lawauna Triplet, a 29-year-old Black woman, was last seen alive in the early morning hours of June 15, 1993, walking along Northeast Alberta Street in Portland, Oregon. Later that day, her body was discovered near the intersection of North Going Street and North Concord, by a pedestrian overpass. Investigators at the scene determined that her body had been left there in an attempt to hide it.
An autopsy by the Oregon State Medical Examiner revealed that she had died from a combination of abdominal injuries and strangulation. Authorities reported that she was a victim of sex trafficking.
For many years, the murder of Lawauna Triplet remained unsolved, becoming a cold case. The investigation was eventually revitalized, and in May 2019, the Multnomah County District Attorney's office announced a significant breakthrough. A superseding indictment was filed against Homer Lee Jackson, who was 59 years old at the time, officially naming him as the suspect in Triplet's death. This development came as part of a larger investigation into a series of unsolved homicides in the Portland area.
Homer Lee Jackson had already been indicted in 2015 for the murders of four other women that occurred in the 1980s. The addition of Lawauna Triplet's case to the indictment painted a picture of a potential serial killer. All of the victims, including Triplet, were African American, and many were believed to have been involved in prostitution at the time of their deaths. Jackson, who suffered from schizophrenia, ultimately entered into a plea deal in January 2022. He pleaded guilty to the criminally negligent homicides of Triplet and three other women. He was sentenced to six years and three months but was released with credit for time already served. Homer Lee Jackson was found deceased in his home on July 18, 2023.
