Account
Aug 07, 2014
Jan 08, 2024
Yolanda
Panek
50
21
72 inches
200 lbs
210 lbs
Black / African American
Female
In the summer of 1995, a promising young woman's life was tragically cut short, leaving a void in the hearts of her loved ones and a mystery that would unravel into a story of domestic turmoil and ultimate justice. Yolanda Evette Panek, a 21-year-old mother, was last seen on July 13, 1995, checking into the Capri Motel in Portland, Oregon, with her two-year-old son. The following morning, a series of grim discoveries began to unfold, painting a harrowing picture of her final hours. Her 1994 Dodge Spirit was found abandoned near a Greyhound bus station, with her young son locked safely inside. However, the vehicle's interior and trunk were stained with blood, a foreboding sign of the events that had transpired. The investigation quickly centered on the motel room Yolanda had occupied. A maid entering the second-floor room found it in disarray. Both beds had been stripped of their linens, all the towels were missing, and one of the mattresses was soaked through with blood. The disturbing scene prompted a call to the police, who discovered a smear of blood on the sidewalk just below the room's window. A subsequent search of the motel's trash bin uncovered the blood-soaked linens, a cut electrical cord, and Yolanda's shoes, socks, and tank top. The evidence left little doubt that a violent struggle had taken place, and the focus of the investigation soon shifted to a person of interest well-known to Yolanda. Within a week of her disappearance, authorities charged her ex-boyfriend and the father of her child, Abdur Rashid Al-Wadud, also known as Darryl Devereaux, with her murder. The couple had a tumultuous history, and Yolanda had previously sought a restraining order against him, citing threats and physical violence. Investigators pieced together a timeline suggesting Al-Wadud had traveled from his home in East Palo Alto, California, with the intent to harm Yolanda. The prosecution's theory was that he had murdered her in the motel room, disposed of her body, and then abandoned her car with their son inside, making an anonymous 911 call to lead authorities to the child. Despite Al-Wadud's claims of innocence and his attorney's arguments, a jury convicted him of murder in 1996, and he was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. The case is a somber reminder of the devastating impact of domestic violence. Although her former partner was held accountable for her death, Yolanda Panek's body has never been recovered, leaving her family without the finality of a proper burial.
Jul 14, 1995
Portland
Oregon
Multnomah County
No
15603
Portland Police Bureau
Portland
Oregon
Multnomah County
97204
Heidi Helwig
Detective
1111 Southwest 2nd Avenue, Oregon
5038230400
Local
Law Enforcement
95-69348
1995-07-14
Portland Police Bureau
Black
Brown
Brown
05/31/2026
