Man called 911 to say wife died by suicide in 1983, cops say. He later became a suspect
The day after New Year’s Day in 1983, Randal “Randy” McEvers called 911 to say his 28-year-old wife, Nancy McEvers née Pepper, had died by suicide, Oregon officials said.
Despite her husband’s statements, evidence examined later that year showed her gunshot wound was not self-inflicted, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office said in a March 1 news release.
Randal McEvers, though, no longer wanted to cooperate with authorities, and Nancy McEvers’ case was suspended due to a lack of evidence, deputies said.
For the next four decades, her case remained cold.
However, after reopening the case last August, Randal McEvers was identified as a suspect, the sheriff’s office said.
At the time of Nancy McEvers’ death, she was home with her husband and 1-year-old son, the sheriff’s office said.
Following Randal McEvers’ 911 call, detectives arrived and found her with a “gunshot wound to the head,” deputies said. She was taken to a hospital, where she later died.
Randal McEvers, then 30, “provided two different versions of events that led up to the shooting,” the sheriff’s office said, prompting further investigation.
When the sheriff’s office reopened the case last year, it said it “developed multiple new leads.”
Detectives re-examined evidence, and the Oregon State Police Crime Lab also reviewed evidence, deputies said. The crime lab concluded the “lab results from 1983, ruling out suicide, were still accurate and conclusive.”
In addition to examining evidence, detectives spoke to 20 more people, including “detectives, deputies, and firefighters who responded to the scene in 1983,” the sheriff’s office said. Those interviews helped produce additional evidence.
After detectives interviewed Randal McEvers in January, and before the case could be reviewed by the Washington County District Attorney’s Office, he died by suicide, the sheriff’s office said.
“The 40-year-old cold case into the death of Nancy McEvers is now closed,” the sheriff’s office said.
Nancy McEvers is survived by her son, two sisters and mother.
Washington County is about 30 miles west of Portland.
This story was originally published March 2, 2023 at 3:13 PM with the headline "Man called 911 to say wife died by suicide in 1983, cops say. He later became a suspect."
