Do you know who killed Phillip John Rodgers in 1991?
On the evening of Monday, June 24, 1991, Phillip John Rodgers, a male resident of Grants Pass, Oregon, was in Portland for what should have been a celebratory occasion. He had been at a going-away party, drinking with two female friends. As the night deepened, the trio decided to drive into the Old Town area of the city, a decision that would have tragic consequences. Their stated purpose for the late-night drive was to possibly purchase drugs.
At approximately 10:55 p.m., Rodgers, behind the wheel of his 1982 maroon Datsun station wagon, stopped at the intersection of Northwest 5th Avenue and Glisan Street. It was there that an argument erupted between Rodgers and two Hispanic men. The nature of the dispute is not entirely clear, but it escalated quickly and violently. Rodgers got out of his vehicle to confront one of the men. The confrontation was brief and deadly. The man he approached stabbed him twice in the chest.
An ambulance was called to the scene, but the wounds were too severe. Phillip Rodgers died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. The suspect in his murder was described by witnesses as a Hispanic man, estimated to be between 25 and 26 years of age. He was said to be of a stocky build, standing between 5 feet 6 and 5 feet 8 inches tall, with shoulder-length black hair. At the time of the incident, he was reportedly wearing a white T-shirt under a black, waist-length leather-style jacket and white high-top shoes.
Despite the witness descriptions, no arrests have ever been made in the case, and the murder of Phillip John Rodgers remains an unsolved cold case. The Portland Police Bureau's Cold Case Homicide Unit continues to seek information from the public that might lead to the identification and arrest of the person responsible for his death.
