Police have announced that the case if officially closed.
After 40 years, an Oregon cold case has been officially closed. After detectives questioned a Tigard man earlier this year who was suspected in the slaying of his wife, the man later died by suicide after speaking to authorities, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office announced.
On January 2, 1983, Randal “Randy” McEvers called 911 to say that his wife, Nancy McEvers, 28, had died by suicide. When deputies arrived, they found Nancy with a gunshot wound to the head. EMS transported Nancy to a nearby hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Randy and Nancy, along with their one-year-old son, were the only ones home at the time of the incident, police said.
Cops say that when Randy talked to deputies on the scene, he provided two different versions of events that led up to the shooting, and detectives were called in to investigate further.
In 1983, detectives gathered forensic evidence, an autopsy was conducted, and the gun was tested with results showing that the shooting was not self-inflicted.
By April 1983, Randy refused to cooperate with the investigators. This led investigators to suspend the case due to a lack of other leads, and the case went cold.
The Washington County Sheriff’s Office said that in August 2022, detectives assigned to the Violent Crimes Unit, who also handle cold case investigations, re-opened the investigation into the death of Nancy. Over the past several months, they developed multiple new leads on the case.
Detectives had also reviewed all the evidence and lab results from 1983 that ruled out suicide and determined the results were still accurate and conclusive, according to KPTV.
In January 2023, detectives visited Randy McEvers at his Tigard home to interview him. After speaking with the widower they referred the case to county prosecutors, the sheriff’s office said.
However, the new investigation reached an abrupt end before a review could happen as Randy died by suicide on Feb. 8, 2023, police announced this week.
The Washington County Sheriff’s Office has officially closed the case.
Police also said detectives would still like to speak to anyone with information about Randy and Nancy McEvers. Please call the Sheriff’s Office at 503-846-2700 with any information.
