OR OR - Robert, 61, & Frieda Wheatley, 69, Portland, 27 August 1988

When police walked into Robert and Frieda Wheatley’s home on Aug. 29, 1988, they discovered two bodies inside the basement. The medical examiner determined Robert, 61, and Frieda, 69, were murdered. Both had been strangled, police said. The case remains unsolved...

A TV, ATM card, credit card and the Wheatley’s light-green 1979 Buick Regal were stolen, police said. There was no sign of forced entry. The credit and debt card were used extensively in northeast, north and downtown Portland prior to the Wheatley’s bodies being discovered, police said. Officers eventually located the Buick a few days later on Jantzen Beach.

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Robert and Frieda Wheatley were a quiet, retired couple. In 1988, they were trying to sell their north Portland home. Portland police cold case investigators said the Wheatleys were murdered by a killer or killers posing as prospective buyers...

"(Someone) indicated he was interested in purchasing the house and would pay full cash. The name that was used (was) the name of an actual individual of a local university who had his identification stolen from his car," said retired detective George Young, who recently reviewed the case...

Police do have some forensic evidence that may be re-tested with new technology, but investigators said they're convinced that someone in the community knows who killed the Wheatleys.

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