In the late summer of 1969, a shocking act of violence shattered the peace of a Portland, Oregon, home. On a date reported as either late September 1st or early September 2nd, 71-year-old Margaret Rosenberry was brutally murdered in her residence. She was not the only victim of this horrific event; her 27-year-old granddaughter, Gail Snelling, was also killed in the same incident.
The tranquility of their home was forever broken by an intruder who was, paradoxically, no stranger to the family.
The man responsible for this double homicide was Douglas Franklin Wright, a man who was acquainted with the Rosenberry family. Wright broke into the home and, armed with a pistol, fatally shot both women. Margaret Rosenberry was shot three times, while her granddaughter sustained two fatal gunshot wounds to the head. The violence did not end there. After murdering the two women, Wright abducted Gail Snelling's five-year-old son, who was also present in the house.
A massive manhunt for Wright ensued as law enforcement worked to track him down and rescue the young boy. For over a month, Wright managed to evade capture. He was eventually apprehended after shooting a man at a billiards hall in Banks, Oregon. Following his arrest, Douglas Franklin Wright was found guilty of the murders of Margaret Rosenberry and Gail Snelling and was subsequently sentenced to 35 years in prison. Another individual, Richard Sheldon Clifford, was investigated for his potential role as an accessory after the fact in connection with the murders and kidnapping, though the outcome of that investigation is a separate matter from Wright's direct culpability.
