Joseph Banks

Serial Killer

Joseph Kelly Banks: The Portland Serial Killer

Overview

Joseph Kelly Banks is an American murderer responsible for a series of shootings in Portland, Oregon, during the first three months of 2022. Banks killed three men in separate attacks and seriously wounded three other people. The killings occurred on January 2, February 2, and March 1, 2022, giving the case the characteristics of a serial murder series rather than a single mass-shooting event. Investigators found no apparent personal relationship connecting Banks to the people he targeted, and the attacks appeared largely unprovoked. The three homicide victims were Isaiah Dewayne Hurst, Jeff Antonio Ramirez, and Mark Johnson. Each man was killed in a separate shooting at a different location in Portland. Investigators eventually connected the crimes through surveillance evidence, the circumstances surrounding the attacks, and forensic examination of 9mm cartridge casings recovered from the crime scenes. Banks was arrested on March 2, 2022, one day after the third murder.

Background and Earlier Legal History

Long before the 2022 killings, Banks had an extensive history with the criminal justice and mental-health systems. In federal court in 2007, he was found not guilty by reason of insanity on a charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He subsequently spent years in federal psychiatric custody. By 2020, mental-health professionals reported that Banks had improved while receiving psychiatric treatment and medication. A federal judge approved his conditional release in February 2021. The conditions placed Banks under federal supervision and required him to participate in mental-health treatment, comply with prescribed medication, and refrain from possessing firearms or other dangerous weapons. His psychiatric history later became central to the prosecution of the Portland killings. After his 2022 arrest, multiple forensic psychologists evaluated Banks. Their conclusions concerning his schizophrenia and his mental state during the attacks eventually resulted in a verdict of guilty except for insanity rather than a conventional prison sentence. ...

Confirmed Victims: (3)

Isaiah Hurst Age: (39), Date of Death: 2022-01-2

Survivors:

Stephen Barrera , Date of Attack: 2022-02-02

Lillian Cloud , Date of Attack: 2022-02-28

Thad Thomas , Date of Attack: 2022-02-28

Portland man living in group home for people with mental illness ...