Who killed 54 year old Abram Benavidez?
On the morning of June 5, 1976, in Portland, Oregon, 54-year-old Abram Benavidez, a male and a member of the Native American/Indigenous community, was found dead in an alley behind homes in the 4300 block of North Montana Avenue. Police were called at approximately 8:10 a.m.; investigators determined that the 54-year-old had been killed by a gunshot wound. His death became Police Cold Case #76-42628.
Hours before his body was discovered, the 54-year-old was last seen at the Jubitz Truck Stop shortly before 3:00 a.m. Witnesses later reported hearing people arguing in the same alley off North Montana Avenue at approximately 3:30 a.m., a detail that fixed a rough window of time for the violence that followed. For the four years leading up to his killing, the 54-year-old worked on a Texaco oil rig dry-docked on Swan Island, a routine that grounded him in Portland's industrial rhythms even as the final hours of his life traced a path from the truck stop to a quiet residential back lane.
Despite the early eyewitness reports of an argument, no suspect has been publicly identified and no arrests have been announced in connection with the 54-year-old's homicide. The case remains open, with authorities continuing to seek tips; Crime Stoppers has advertised cash rewards for information that leads to an arrest, and the Portland Police Bureau's Cold Case Homicide Unit lists the killing among its unresolved investigations.
