Gresham, Ore – Three years into retirement, former Gresham police detective Carla Piluso still thinks about the case that’s been unsolved for more than 23 years.
It happened at around 2 a.m. Sept. 18, 1988, when Ann Hansen had just finished hanging out with friends at the October Festival.
Piluso said Hansen chose to take the MAX home and pick up her car later but accidentally left her backpack with a friend.
"When she got back to Gresham, riding MAX, she chose to walk," said Piluso, recalling the details.
Hansen’s body was found in the street on Southeast Roberts near 9th. She had been stabbed to death.
A neighbor heard the screams and possible footsteps and called 9-1-1.
Sgt. Claudio Grandjean, now a spokesman for the department, was a patrol officer when it happened. He arrived on scene in less than a minute, one he still calls "one of the most brutal" of his career.
"I'm coming up on 25 years and that's the most violent scene I've ever seen," said Grandjean.
Police scoured the area near the scene but found no signs of Hansen’s killer. Hansen was not robbed. She was not raped and had no known enemies.
"For how brutal it was and how senseless it was--there was nothing!" said Piluso. "The suspect just vanished into thin air."
DNA technology has allowed Gresham police to test evidence but so far there’s no match for a suspect; and a large reward hasn’t brought forward information leading to an arrest.
"You just always hope that something will appear or somebody will be in prison and tell their cellmate or a dying declaration or something will happen that will allow some kind of closure," said Piluso.
