PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — A woman who was critically injured in an assault on May 22 has died from her injuries and the suspect is now facing a murder charge.
Portland Police Bureau investigators said that a woman who was assaulted on May 22, Rebecca A. Lange, 44, died at the hospital on June 3 due to her injuries.
PPB said the victim’s family was notified of her death. The medical examiner determined that Lange died of homicide by blunt force trauma.
Days later on June 5, the Multnomah County District Attorney’s office presented the news of her death to a grand jury which returned an updated indictment for suspect Roberto M. Velasquez, 64, for murder in the second degree, assault in the first degree, and unlawful use of a weapon; all charges related to domestic violence.
PAST COVERAGE | Old Town assault leaves woman critically injured
What happened May 22
On Friday May 22 around 6:07 p.m., PPB officers responded to a report of an injured woman on a sidewalk in the 700 block of Northwest Naito Parkway in the Old Town neighborhood.
Officers were not immediately available to respond, PPB’s initial release about the assault said, and emergency medical services including Portland Fire & Rescue and AMR responded and began treating the woman.
Tristin Anderson and his fiancé Alexandria Declet, who live nearby, said a stranger was asking to use their phone, explaining the assault. They then saw the woman and immediately jumped in to help and called 911.
“[Dispatch] told me not to touch or anything, and then that’s when we had two of our security guards come around the corner, and they tried to help the best they could too,” Anderson said. “And then we stuck around until the ambulance got here.”
“Me and the security guards tried our best to help the lady that was on the ground, but she was, you know, bleeding out the side of her head and everything, so we couldn’t really do much,” he added.
“We were just trying to keep her calm and focused on not moving,” Declet said.
According to dispatch audio, first responders were warned that the suspect had left the scene.
Dispatch logs show that at 6:11 p.m., two officers and a sergeant cleared from their calls and arrived at 6:16 p.m.
An initial investigation showed that Lange was assaulted with a “blunt instrument.” Police declined to specify what weapon was used. She was taken to a hospital by ambulance with what PPB called “critical, life-threatening injuries” at the time.
“It looks almost like they’d had a big knife of some sort ’cause there was something wrong with her finger too,” Declet said. “It looked like it was either, like, broken off or like slightly sliced off, like it was pretty bad.”
Neighbors told KATU the assault took place near these stairs in Old Town on Friday, May 22, 2026/KATU News
PPB Sergeant Kevin Allen said when officers first arrived, “we didn’t know where the suspect was, and so there was a effort immediately to try to figure out where that suspect went.”
“We’re also concerned, obviously, for the fire crews, the EMS crews, because we may have a dangerous suspect in the area,” Allen continued. “And, want to make sure that we protected them and got them the protection they needed to do their work.”
Police said the investigation found the suspect, Velasquez, had gone into a nearby apartment.
“It was believed that there was information that he was associated with that residence,” Allen said. “I don’t know if he actually lives there, but it wasn’t like he broke into a random apartment.”
Officers surrounded the apartment and secured the scene while detectives applied for a search warrant. The Special Emergency Reaction Team and the Crisis Negotiation Team were also called in.
Officers established a crime scene and closed Northwest Naito Parkway so the scene could be documented and evidence collected. Detectives from the Major Crimes Unit and the Homicide Unit were called in because of the seriousness of the case, Portland Police said.
Velasquez surrendered to SERT officers at 11:29 p.m., police said. He was booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center at 2:42 a.m. on charges of attempted murder in the second degree, assault in the first degree and unlawful use of a weapon.
“We needed a lot of help with this,” Allen said. “This was not only our tactical teams, the SERT and CNT, but it was also multiple detective units that had to come out for this. We had help from all precincts; North Precinct sent resources, we even had a drone unit from Gresham Police come out to help us with this just because of how thinly stretched our resources were for this.”
“We’re very grateful that the situation worked out in terms of getting the suspect into custody and stabilizing the incident, but our hearts go out to the victim who’s still in the hospital,” he continued. “And my understanding is she’s still fighting for her life.”
An investigation into the assault continues, and police is asking for information about the case.
Those who saw what happened before or during the assault or happen to have evidence or video footage and have not yet spoken to police are asked to submit a tip. The case number is 26-148225.
