PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Portland Police Bureau and Crime Stoppers of Oregon are asking the public for information on the unsolved murder of 23-year-old Dion Matthews Jr.
On October 18, 2015, just before midnight, officers found Matthews dead from a gunshot wound in the parking lot on Southwest 3rd Avenue and Burnside Street, officials said. Authorities say witnesses described seeing people running from the area and vehicles driving away after the shooting.
In the eight years since his death, no arrests have been made and Matthews’ family is making a plea for information to help solve the case.
“I just don’t want my son to be another Black male statistic, because he was trying to find his way in life,” said Matthews’ mother, Taunya Mayo. “And his life that couldn’t short because of someone else’s cruelty, hatreds, jealousy and envy, meanness.”
After Mayo was interviewed by KOIN 6 last year, she received an anonymous call from someone who claimed to have stayed by her son’s side as he died.
“I know what had to be just devastating to them as well to watch a person and know there’s nothing that they could have done,” said Mayo. “But there’s… to be there to comfort my baby, that means the world to me. So I want to thank you from the very bottom of my heart. You are an amazing person.”
Investigators continue to believe that someone witnessed the murder or has additional information about what happened, but has not yet come forward.
“I know someone knows something, seen something,” Mayo added. “Either you stand for something or you’ll fall for anything… And I’m always going to stand for justice for my one and only son.”
Crime Stoppers of Oregon is offering a $2,500 reward for information leading to an arrest.
Anyone with information on this case is encouraged to contact Detective Rico Beniga at 503-823-0457 or rico.beniga@police.portlandoregon.gov.
