Who murdered 36 year old Charles Harvey in 1991? In the early morning hours of September 26, 1991, the quiet residential intersection of NE 13th Avenue and Roselawn Street in Portland, Oregon, was shattered by the sound of gunshots. A car was heard speeding away from the scene, its tires marking a hasty retreat into the darkness. Shortly after, at approximately 2:36 a.m., a grim discovery was made on the front porch of a nearby house.
Charles Harvey, a 36-year-old African-American male, was found bleeding, the victim of the recent violence.
Emergency services were summoned, and the Portland Fire Bureau arrived to render aid. Harvey was quickly transported to a local hospital, but his injuries proved to be too severe. He later died from a single gunshot wound, leaving behind a life that included employment as a window cleaner for a local company. It was also reported that he was a regular user of crack cocaine.
The investigation into Harvey's death has stretched on for decades, becoming a cold case. In the immediate aftermath, witnesses provided crucial, yet ultimately elusive, clues. They reported seeing two vehicles parked near the scene just minutes before the fatal shots were fired. One was a white 1970s 4-door Buick sedan occupied by three unidentified African-American men. The other was a yellow Ford pickup, dating from the late 1960s to early 1970s, which held three unidentified white occupants.
Despite these witness accounts, no arrests have ever been made in the case of Charles Harvey's murder. The identities of the six individuals in the two vehicles remain unknown, and the motive behind the shooting is still a mystery. The case remains open, a lingering question in the city's history, with authorities still seeking any information that might finally lead to an arrest and bring closure to the violent end of a man's life on a quiet neighborhood porch.
