GRESHAM, Ore. — A woman was stabbed to death at a residential care facility early in the morning on Sunday, July 16, according to the Gresham Police Department. The agency confirmed that she was an employee of the facility.
Detectives arrested 59-year-old James Calvin Smith of Gresham, who was a resident of the facility, that morning. He was lodged in the Multnomah County Detention Center. On Tuesday, July 25, he was arraigned and indicted on three charges: second-degree murder, unlawful use of a weapon and tampering with physical evidence. Smith entered a plea of not guilty.
Officers were called to the home on Northeast 165th Avenue near Pacific Drive around 7 a.m. and found the female employee deceased. She was later identified in court documents as Haley Rogers.
According to a probable cause affidavit filed by a deputy district attorney for Multnomah County, Smith was one of several residents of the care facility. Rogers had been covering the night shift at the group home, apparently unaccompanied. Another staff member arrived at 7 a.m. for her day shift and found Rogers dead, having suffered apparent stab wounds, the affidavit says.
Police arrived to find signs of a struggle in the facility's common area, and what appeared to be bloody footprints leading to Smith's room, the affidavit went on to say. Authorities called for all of the home's residents to come outside — all of them did, with the exception of Smith. He finally emerged after being "loud-hailed" and was taken into custody.
Another resident of the group home later told police that he'd heard screaming and came out of his room to see Smith holding a knife in his hand and standing over Rogers, who had visible wounds. A search of the group home turned up bloody clothing behind Smith's bedroom door, the affidavit adds.
An autopsy of Rogers' body confirmed that her death was a homicide, the result of "numerous" stab wounds.
On Monday, Cascadia Health put out a statement confirming that the victim was one of its employees, revealing that the alleged murder happened at McCarthy Place, a 10-bed residential facility operated by the company. Residents have been moved to temporary housing elsewhere while police investigate the killing.
"In the coming days, Cascadia will assess what happened to understand the circumstances surrounding this event and collaborate to ensure appropriate measures are taken to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future," Derald Walker, president and CEO of Cascadia Health, said in part. "This news has undoubtedly left our whole mental health community in a state of shock and distress, but we are fortunate to have each other.
"The work we do is hard, but it is important. It is tireless and traumatic, but essential to the fabric of our communities. Yet too often, it is overlooked and undervalued despite the significant and positive impact it has across our entire society. I want to acknowledge the unwavering dedication all Cascadia employees bring to their perspective roles every day. And I want to empathize with each of them as we grieve the loss of our colleague and friend.”
This was the second homicide in the city in less than 48 hours. A person was found dead inside an apartment on Southeast 162nd Avenue south of Burnside around 3:30 p.m. on Friday. Two people connected to the shooting were arrested, Gresham police said.
Neither the victim nor suspects in this incident have been identified.
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