OR OR - Nancy Bergeson, 57, Portland, 24 Nov 2009

DNA Solves
DNA Solves
DNA Solves

New Posts

Sounds like she did a lot of work with tax evaders. There's some talk on some of the tax forums that this case went "bad" and that the jury's reaction seemed to change suddenly.

So, I've got to ask what your theory is about Michael Franke? And what about Scot McAlister and his child *advertiser censored*? Is Frank Gable guilty? That story has more twists than Lombard Street!! Do you think the truth will ever come out? Isn't it true that Michael's brother, Kevin, went on to marry the widow of Natividad, who was originally fingered for the killing? Oh, what a web....

I'm so hopeful for a speedy resolution of Nancy Bergeson's death. Oregon needs a clean house.
 
Missizzy said:
http://www.quatloos.com/Q-Forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&p=82147

"She was found dead in her Portland Oregon home at her laptop keyboard in her pajamas on Tuesday."

This is one of the only places I've found where she was noted to be at her laptop. And in her pajamas....early in the morning? Did someone spend the night? This is from a forum concerning the case Nancy had just worked on. A very interesting forum IMO.


The "fact" that she was found at her laptop keyboard in her pajamas is not a "fact" that appears in any newspaper or press release. (It also tends to conflict with published accounts that she was found face down in her dining room.) The sourcing is suspicious IMHO.
Click to expand...
 
Apparently it was not discovered that this was a homicide until the next mornimg during the autopsy. Because of this delay, they have not arrived at a time of death (or a tentitive TOD has not been released to the press). She was wearing her PJ's so the death probably occured either that morning or the night before. (was her bed made, was the morning paper brought in ?)

The lack of forced entry suggest she knew her attacker. The possibilitiy that someone gained entry to her home and attacked her while she worked on her laptop is unlikely. Even if her door were unlocked, the dogs would have responded to the door opening and she would have been aware that someone was there. Every dog owner knows what I am talking about. Apparently the site on her laptop had information pertaining to her client at her recent trial. This leads to two possibilities: 1) Someone came to her home and was admitted even though she was wearing her PJ's. Since her activities would involved "entertaining" her visitor, what she had on her laptop would have been of interest to both of them and her visitor killed her at that time. Very suggestive of the murder not being planned but definitely related to her work. 2) She had a "guest" who had been there a while; probably overnight and she was not "entertaining" this person at the time she died. She was doing a little "work related" web research when that person attacked her. A PM TOD suggest #1, and AM TOD suggests #2.

Defense attorneys are rarely killed by their clients. "Revenge" is more likely to be directed against Prosecutors, judges or adverse witnesses. A defendant might be concerned with the information his attorney might "have on him" but the attorney would pretty much be precluded from disclopsing any of it to anyone.
 
IIRC, the murder scene was left unsecured for 16 hours.
 
Missizzy said:
Sounds like she did a lot of work with tax evaders. There's some talk on some of the tax forums that this case went "bad" and that the jury's reaction seemed to change suddenly.

So, I've got to ask what your theory is about Michael Franke? And what about Scot McAlister and his child *advertiser censored*? Is Frank Gable guilty? That story has more twists than Lombard Street!! Do you think the truth will ever come out? Isn't it true that Michael's brother, Kevin, went on to marry the widow of Natividad, who was originally fingered for the killing? Oh, what a web....

I'm so hopeful for a speedy resolution of Nancy Bergeson's death. Oregon needs a clean house.
Click to expand...

I would like to read more about the trial. I tried doing some searches on oregonlive.com and didn't find anything.

OT: I will have to dig more into the Francke case to give you my current opinion! Maybe we should make a small thread in the Cold case forum. :)
 
Thank you for pointing out Chicagofa13, that I misspelled Michael Francke's name. That is indeed a very worrisome case. I hope the people of Oregon don't forget about that man. He seemed set to do some much needed cleaning up and I don't believe the whole story has come out. I tried to edit my posts above to change the spelling but the site won't let me.

In case anyone wants to research this case, you can start at:

[ame]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Francke[/ame]

Mr. Francke was murdered in January 1989 in Salem, OR at the Dome Building. He was the director of the Oregon Dept. of Corrections. There are many theories on his death. A man, Frank Gable is doing life for the murder but there are many who believe he is innocent. I believe his brother is still searching for answers.

A film was made, "Without Evidence" in 1995 which starred Angelina Jolie as a young informant. You can also watch a clip on Youtube titled, "Murder of Michael Francke, Part 1 and Part 2".

A true unsolved mystery in Oregon.
 
There are a number of articles, websites etc. that have info on my brother's murder; perhaps the most comprehensive is www.freefrankgable.com. It contains much information that I provided to the webmeister, as well as his own material, and his own diatribes for and against many people for no reason or for good reason, depending on his mood. A google of Michael Francke or Frank Gable, will also give you a lot of hits for more info.

Again, I will avail myself to anyone who has spent some hours researching and needs some additional information of a push in the right direction.

Merry Christmas to all, and hope and pray for a better and happy New Year for everyone, especially our troops.

Kevin Francke
 
Doesn't sound like you're aware of my website I created five years ago. Here's a link...

www.freefrankgable.com

Be sure to read Journal of a Murder. There's a link on the homepage as well as video of the Unsolved Mysteries episode that aired on the case.

You can also find pics of Scott McAlister that I took when I visited his home in Tempe, AZ. Frank Gable is not guilty, and there is a wealth of info on my site to substantiate that claim.

Twists in the case and it's aftermath you say? Wow, if you only knew...but it's all immersed on my site, blog, message forum, facebook page, etc.

Michael Francke was actually found dead at the Dome Building in Salem, not the Capital Building, and yes, his brother Kevin married Elizabeth Godlove who was acquitted with a domestic violence defense of Tim Natividad's murder a mere four months from Natividad's death. Pretty quick for a murder trial, huh? So much more to that story.

Yes, we should start a thread in the cold case forum. If you're as interested in the case as you say...you aint heard nothin yet.
 
Well thank you Kevin, although my diatribes have always been born with very good reason.

Since you are offering to avail yourself to "anyone who has spent some hours researching"...I'd like to take you up on that offer. Is five years enough hours? I'd say we have a few issues in need of discussion.
 
Just a suggestion. Why don't one of you start a new thread under Cold Cases. It would be helpful to see all the info in one spot and might renew some interest in the case. I would imagine that you'd find great interest here on WS. I only brought up the issue in the context of Nancy Bergeson's murder not being the only "murder mystery" in Oregon.

I learned of Mr. Francke's death (I do apologize again concerning the misspelling and the misstatement of the place of the murder) while doing research following the rape trial involving our children. We also experienced some "ominous" and strange occurrences around the targeting of our children for abuse and the handling of the rapist's time spent in the OYA. We received some yet-to-be-explained anonymous warnings which still frighten me.

A good friend of Ms. Bergeson's was the lead defense attorney in our trial. She represented the young man who raped our youngest eight children. It worries me greatly that so few clues have been forthcoming. I check every morning and there's been nothing new reported. Please post any updates you come upon.
 
kemo said:
Apparently it was not discovered that this was a homicide until the next mornimg during the autopsy. Because of this delay, they have not arrived at a time of death (or a tentitive TOD has not been released to the press). She was wearing her PJ's so the death probably occured either that morning or the night before. (was her bed made, was the morning paper brought in ?)

The lack of forced entry suggest she knew her attacker. The possibilitiy that someone gained entry to her home and attacked her while she worked on her laptop is unlikely. Even if her door were unlocked, the dogs would have responded to the door opening and she would have been aware that someone was there. Every dog owner knows what I am talking about. Apparently the site on her laptop had information pertaining to her client at her recent trial. This leads to two possibilities: 1) Someone came to her home and was admitted even though she was wearing her PJ's. Since her activities would involved "entertaining" her visitor, what she had on her laptop would have been of interest to both of them and her visitor killed her at that time. Very suggestive of the murder not being planned but definitely related to her work. 2) She had a "guest" who had been there a while; probably overnight and she was not "entertaining" this person at the time she died. She was doing a little "work related" web research when that person attacked her. A PM TOD suggest #1, and AM TOD suggests #2.

Defense attorneys are rarely killed by their clients. "Revenge" is more likely to be directed against Prosecutors, judges or adverse witnesses. A defendant might be concerned with the information his attorney might "have on him" but the attorney would pretty much be precluded from disclopsing any of it to anyone.
Click to expand...

Some people wear their PJs at home during the day, so just because she was found in her PJs doesn't mean she was killed either at night or early morning.
 
Missizzy said:
Just a suggestion. Why don't one of you start a new thread under Cold Cases. It would be helpful to see all the info in one spot and might renew some interest in the case. I would imagine that you'd find great interest here on WS. I only brought up the issue in the context of Nancy Bergeson's murder not being the only "murder mystery" in Oregon.

I learned of Mr. Francke's death (I do apologize again concerning the misspelling and the misstatement of the place of the murder) while doing research following the rape trial involving our children. We also experienced some "ominous" and strange occurrences around the targeting of our children for abuse and the handling of the rapist's time spent in the OYA. We received some yet-to-be-explained anonymous warnings which still frighten me.

A good friend of Ms. Bergeson's was the lead defense attorney in our trial. She represented the young man who raped our youngest eight children. It worries me greatly that so few clues have been forthcoming. I check every morning and there's been nothing new reported. Please post any updates you come upon.
Click to expand...
I have taken your advice and started a thread in the cold case forum. Do you know how I can possibly get a sub-folder created in order to keep everything packaged in one place?

I have offered up a somewhat brief synopsis for starters.
 
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2010/01/award_amount_increases_to_1000.html

Award amount increases to $10,000 in Bergeson homicide case

"Two months after Nancy Bergeson was found strangled in her Southwest Portland home with no arrest made, a Crime Stoppers award for information in the case is being increased to up to $10,000, police announced today.

Family members and a friend of Bergeson, an asssistant federal public defender known for her independent spirit and deep commitment to work, also plan to speak to the media tomorrow, hoping to generate renewed interest in the homicide case.

"Somebody out there knows something. It's very important that that message be conveyed so this issue can be resolved,'' said Marian Bergeson, Nancy's mother who lives in California and is a retired California legislator and state education secretary. "Whatever momentum or whatever motivation it's going to take, it's something we have to pursue.''
 
I seriously doubt $10,000 will entice anyone to come forward with info. Standard operating procedure though for cases like this with no leads. Is it just me or does this murder seem like a professional job?

The $10,000 reward reminds me of the reward of the same figure for info on the Michael Francke case. Several important state officials had issued a letter, announcing the creation of a reward fund for information leading to the apprehension of Francke's killer.

They were: Gov. Goldschmidt; House Speaker Vera Katz; Senate President John Kitzhaber of Roseburg; Senate Republican Leader C.T. "Cub" Houck of Salem; and House Republican Leader Larry Campbell of Eugene.

They appealed to the state Legislature and other public officials, as well as members of the general public to contribute to the fund and help bring Francke's killer to justice.

Three weeks later it was reported $2,895 had been collected, and of that total, $1,000 was from a Salem real estate group. Only three members of the state Legislature: Sen. Glenn Otto, D-Troutdale; Rep. Mary Alice Ford, R-Portland; and Rep. Kelly Clark, R-West Linn had contributed. The only high state official on the list was State Treasurer Anthony Meeker.

Pretty ridiculous huh? It will be interesting to see how the Bergeson case progresses. As in the Francke case...there may be those who profess to wanting this case solved, but in reality will be hindering any progression of the investigations.
 
Two recent articles about Nancy Bergeson's murder:

http://www.katu.com/news/local/126049013.html

Family of murdered public defender renews fight to solve crime
July 22, 2011

"She defended criminals at the federal level until her murder a year and a half ago. In an exclusive sit-down interview with Nancy Bergeson's family Friday, Anna Canzano learned new information about the case.

Bergeson's mother and sister told Canzano she was found in her Southwest Portland home in November 2009 face down in her dining room, with her golden retriever, Bodie, lying over her body. There was no sign of struggle, no indication of a crime scene, break-in or burglary. At first, it wasn’t obvious Bergeson had been murdered...."

more at link


and


http://blogs.ocweekly.com/navelgazing/2011/07/marian_bergeson_nancy_bergeson.php

Marian Bergeson Continues 1 1/2-year Hunt for Her Daughter's Killer in Oregon
July 28, 2011

"....Marian Bergeson was just in Portland dedicating a nature trail to her slain daughter and offering a $6,000 reward for information leading to her killer.

Portland Police can use the assist. They've gone through her old cases looking for clues that may lead to a suspect. These includes criminals she's defended and police officers and federal prosecutors she's bested. Nothing. They are officially stumped...."

more at link
 
Who ever killed her might be someone connected to her client. Probably was not too happy about getting his or her associate going to prison.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

DNASolves

Who is DeKalb County John Doe (2022)?

Members online

... and 121 more.
Total: 2,329 (members: 122, guests: 2,207)

Online statistics

Members online
122
Guests online
2,207
Total visitors
2,329
Totals may include hidden visitors.

Forum statistics

Threads
602,105
Messages
18,134,720
Members
231,233
Latest member
Shablee
Back
Top