Lane County cold case solved in 1995 Willamette River killing

A retired-officer cold-case team in Lane County has closed a 31-year gap in one of Springfield’s most painful unsolved killings, identifying Roy C. Gomes as the suspect in the death of Joni Marie Grigsby. Grigsby was 33 when her body was found a little after 9 p.m. on June 2, 1995, in tall grass near the Springfield Main Street Bridge along the Willamette River. Investigators ruled the death a homicide after determining that she had been sexually assaulted and strangled.

The breakthrough came through DNA work that linked the case to an autopsy sample from Gomes, who had died years ago after being shot by police in Sacramento, California. Lane County submitted DNA samples for testing in 2023, and investigators later identified Gomes as the man responsible for the killing. Because Gomes is dead, no criminal prosecution will follow, but the identification gives Grigsby’s family an answer they waited decades to receive.

Joni Grigsby’s family has been notified, and her brother, Jon Roberts, described her as a “fun-loving, happy-go-lucky person” and “a beautiful spirit.” For families who have spent years living with unanswered questions, the case shows both the reach and the limits of modern cold-case work: technology can name a suspect long after the fact, but it cannot bring a courtroom reckoning when the suspect is gone. In Grigsby’s case, the long delay leaves the family with clarity, but not with justice in the usual sense.

The Lane County Sheriff’s Cold Case Team that pushed the case forward is a volunteer unit made up of retired law enforcement officers who donate their time and expertise. Lane County says the team is fully funded through donations and has also received support for advanced genetic DNA research through a Walmart Corporation grant and a donation from Alera Management Group, LLC of Lake Oswego. The team is still working four additional cold cases, and the Oregon State Police Cold Case Unit, which handles unsolved homicides, missing persons and unidentified human remains cases, says it focuses on cases with actionable leads, forensic evidence, surviving witnesses and complete historical records. For Lane County, the Grigsby case is a reminder that the county’s oldest murders can still move when investigators have the records, the evidence and the money to keep going.