Do you know who murdered Tyrone Marquette Hayes in 1994? In the early morning hours of May 11, 1994, a sense of unease shattered the quiet of a Northeast Portland neighborhood. Inside his bedroom in the 5800 block of NE Killingsworth Street, Tyrone Marquette Hayes, a Black male, was spending time with his girlfriend. Their conversation was abruptly cut short by the sound of gunfire erupting from the street outside.
In a fateful moment, as he stood up, a bullet pierced through the walls of his home and struck him in the head.
The immediate aftermath was a blur of frantic activity. A call to 911 brought emergency personnel racing to the scene, and Tyrone was rushed to a local hospital. There, he underwent surgery but ultimately succumbed to the severe head wound. Back at the residence, police officers discovered numerous bullet strikes on the house and two parked vehicles, clear evidence of the indiscriminate nature of the attack. Investigators believe the shots were fired from a vehicle in what they have described as a classic drive-by shooting. Neither his girlfriend, who was in the room with him, nor his mother, who was asleep in another bedroom, were physically harmed in the incident.
Despite the passage of time, the case remains unsolved, a lingering source of pain for his family and community. In the immediate investigation, neighbors reported seeing a dark-colored vehicle, possibly blue or black, speeding away from the area shortly after the shots were fired. However, authorities have not been able to definitively link this vehicle or its occupants to Tyrone's death. No arrests have been made, and no specific suspects have been publicly identified. The investigation into the death of Tyrone Hayes continues as a cold case, with law enforcement still seeking information that could lead to an arrest and bring a measure of closure to a tragedy that unfolded over three decades ago.
