In the gray light of June 16, 1972, Joseph N. Zaloom, an 83-year-old Syrian-born man, was found gravely injured in the 300 block of SW 5th Avenue in Albany, Oregon. Investigators traced his last known movements to a nearby social club located where City Hall now stands, and described the scene as consistent with a robbery that escalated into a violent assault. He was taken to Albany General Hospital and died there the next day, June 17, 1972.

He was buried at Willamette Memorial Park in Albany. No arrests or publicly named suspects followed in the weeks and years after the attack, and the case remains open.

Did anyone in Albany in 1972 have information about Zaloom’s last visit to the social club or his walk that morning?