HILLSBORO, Ore.- On July 15, 2020, Judge Andrew Erwin found Gregory Dennis Hall guilty except for insanity on one count of murder with a firearm. On July 29, 2020, Judge Erwin ordered the defendant to serve the rest of his life at the Oregon State Hospital, subject to the supervision of the Psychiatric Security Review Board. Senior Deputy District Attorney John Gerhard and Deputy District Attorney Dustin Staten prosecuted the case against Mr. Hall.

On April 6, 2018, the defendant’s elderly father called 911 to report that his son shot him inside a residence on SW Hoodview Place in Beaverton, Oregon. Officers with the Beaverton Police Department responded and ordered the defendant to come out of the home. The defendant then exited the home and was apprehended by responding officers.

Beaverton Police then entered the residence and found the defendant’s father lying on the kitchen floor. He was suffering from several gunshot wounds. Police rendered aid and called for an ambulance. Unfortunately, the victim died as a result of his wounds before medics could reach the hospital.

Beaverton Police detectives gathered overwhelming evidence of the defendant’s guilt, including a written confession. Mr. Hall told detectives he was involved in an argument with his father which led to the shooting. It was evident that the defendant suffered from a chronic mental illness, but he told psychologists with the Oregon State Hospital that he killed his father out of anger.

It was undisputed that Mr. Hall killed his father, and the trial consisted of an inquiry into his mental state at the time of the killing. While doctors with the Oregon State Hospital determined that the defendant did not meet the criteria for a guilty except for insanity finding, ultimately Judge Erwin agreed with the defense psychologist that due, in large part, to a lack of adequate medication, the defendant was indeed guilty except for insanity.

This office wishes to acknowledge the work of Beaverton Police on this case, including Detectives Chad Opitz and Madalyn Brown.