In the late summer of 2016, the quiet community of Roseburg, Oregon, was shaken by the violent end to the life of Larry Porter, a 55-year-old White/Caucasian male. On the evening of September 3rd, events unfolded at a residence in the nearby area of Azalea that would culminate in a double homicide, leaving Porter and a female companion dead and a suspect in custody.
That evening, a distressing 911 call was made by 51-year-old Deborah Perry from the home she was at with Larry Porter.
During the call, Perry reported that an intruder had forced his way into the residence and had attacked them with what she believed to be pepper spray. The terror in her voice was tragically cut short when the sound of gunshots echoed through the open line, and Perry's voice went silent. The call painted a grim picture of the violence that was unfolding.
Law enforcement was dispatched to the scene, and a deputy responding to the call astutely noticed a white vehicle leaving the immediate area without its headlights on, a suspicious sight in the rural darkness. The deputy initiated a traffic stop and identified the driver as 42-year-old Travis Bean. A search of Bean and his vehicle revealed incriminating evidence, including pepper spray canisters and a stun gun. More damningly, what appeared to be dried blood was observed on his hand. The discoveries were enough to detain Bean as the primary suspect in the unfolding investigation.
Inside the residence, deputies discovered the bodies of Larry Porter and Deborah Perry. Both had sustained multiple gunshot wounds to the chest, and the scene was processed for evidence, which included the recovery of. 25 caliber shell casings. Further investigation into the relationships of those involved revealed a contentious history between Travis Bean and his landlord, Larry Porter. It was uncovered that there had been ongoing disputes between the two men. Deborah Perry, who had recently moved in with Porter, was tragically caught in the deadly escalation of this conflict. Bean was subsequently arrested and charged with two counts of murder for the deaths of Larry Porter and Deborah Perry, bringing a swift, though somber, development to a brutal crime that had shattered the peace of the small Oregon community.
