Do you know who murdered 25 year old Elamari Magdud? On the cold morning of February 9, 1983, the body of a 25-year-old Caucasian male, Elamari Magdud, was discovered in the parking lot of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in North Portland, Oregon. Magdud, a student from Libya studying machine design at the University of Portland, was found naked and bloodied, having died from homicidal violence. His clothing was found scattered around the scene, an initially misleading detail that led some to suspect a sexual assault, a theory that was later
dismissed. Investigators also briefly considered the possibility of death from exposure to the elements before the violent nature of his death was confirmed.
The investigation into Magdud's death revealed a tragic case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. On the night of his death, a large brawl had erupted in the parking lot of the nearby Portsmouth Club. The fight, reportedly started over a trivial matter of gravel being kicked up onto a car, involved a significant number of people and resulted in one arrest, though that individual was later released. Magdud was not involved in this altercation; he had been drinking at a different establishment, the Spinning Wheel Tavern, which he was seen leaving around closing time.
Detectives believe that after the initial fight was broken up, some of the participants returned to the area later that morning, seeking retaliation against their rivals. It is believed that as Magdud left the tavern, he was tragically mistaken for one of the individuals from the earlier fight. Witnesses reported that he bore a striking resemblance to one of the combatants. His attackers are thought to have confronted and then chased him to the church parking lot, where they beat him to death.
Despite the police having suspects in the case, no one has ever been arrested or formally identified in the murder of Elamari Magdud. The case grew cold over the years, though it has been periodically reviewed by detectives hoping that new forensic technology and the passage of time might encourage witnesses to come forward with new information. Authorities have expressed that they believe people in the community have knowledge of the incident and the identities of those responsible. The death of the young university student remains an unsolved homicide, a grim reminder of a petty dispute that escalated to a fatal and senseless act of violence against an innocent bystander.
