Hazelwood double-murder remains unsolved

Officials are asking for help to solve the murders of Jerry and Helen Ephrem in outer East Portland. Can you help?

Police vehicles, including the Bureau’s Mobile Precinct, are parked in front the Hazelwood neighborhood home where a couple was murdered just three years ago. East Portland News archive photo

Story and photos by David F. Ashton

A bit after noon on October 30, 2014, Portland Police Bureau (PPB) East Precinct officers responded to a home on NE 114th Avenue, just north of Glisan Street, on the report of a deceased person inside the home.

There Homicide Detectives found two individuals, “deceased due to homicidal violence” inside their neatly-kept home: 65-year-old Jerry Ephrem and his wife, 65-year-old Helen Ephrem.

>> To read our coverage of the story when it broke, CLICK HERE.

At the time, officials said they had little information to reveal.

Three years later, on October 30, PPB Public Information Officer Sgt. Chris Burley announced that the Bureau is working with Crime Stoppers of Oregon to solve this case. “There is no suspect information, and no known reason why anyone would want to hurt the victims.”

Help solve the murders of Helen and Jerry Ephrem. PPB-provided family photo

Crime Stoppers of Oregon offers cash rewards for information, reported to Crime Stoppers, that leads to an arrest in any unsolved felony crime and tipsters can remain anonymous.

Information about this or any unsolved homicide is eligible for a cash reward of up to $2,500. “Information learned from social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter or YouTube should be shared as these tips may lead to the identification of a suspect or suspects,” Burley said. “Links can be shared anonymously through Crime Stoppers.”

Submit an anonymous tip: to their official website: CLICK HERE, or call 503-823-HELP (4357).

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