In the early morning of April 22, 1988, 77-year-old Grace Turel was found dead after firefighters entered her home at 7625 SE 21st Avenue in Southeast Portland. A passing garbage collector first reported smoke around 6 a.m., and crews discovered that the house had been set on fire. Investigators concluded the blaze was arson and that Turel had been assaulted before the fire was started, indicating the flames were used to conceal a violent crime.

Turel was a widow who had lived alone since her husband’s death two years earlier, and people who knew her described her as security-conscious and unlikely to open her door to a stranger. Robbery was ruled out as a motive, and no arrests or publicly identified suspects have been reported. The reason someone would have assaulted her and set the fire remains unknown.

If anyone knew Grace, her routines, or observed unusual activity near SE 21st Avenue in April 1988, please share information that might help finally bring answers.