PORTLAND, Ore. — The Portland Police Bureau on Wednesday identified a man who was stabbed to death on Christmas Eve on a MAX train in Goose Hollow. The suspected killer has been taken into custody.
Officers responded just before 6:30 p.m. on Sunday for a reported stabbing aboard a TriMet MAX train at the Goose Hollow station. They arrived to find Juan Francisco Orellana-Gavarrete, 23, suffering from a stab wound.
According to PPB, officers provided emergency medical aid as they waited for paramedics to arrive. An ambulance crew took Orellana-Gavarrete to a hospital where he later died.
An initial investigation into the stabbing found that Orellana-Gavarrete and another man began fighting on or near the Providence Park MAX station, Portland police said. After the suspect stabbed Orellana-Gavarrete, the victim rode the train to Goose Hollow where first responders found him.
Since the fatal stabbing, Orellana-Gavarrete's family has been notified of his death. An autopsy by the county medical examiner confirmed that his death was a homicide, the result of the stabbing.
Homicide detectives were able to identify the suspect as Edel Cruz-Aragon, 22, and shared his information with local law enforcement agencies. Officers from PPB's Central Precinct found Cruz-Aragon around 1 p.m. on Tuesday at Southwest 9th Avenue and Oak Street. While he tried to walk away from the officers, PPB said, they caught up and took him into custody.
Detectives booked Cruz-Aragon into Multnomah County jail on charges of second-degree murder and unlawful use of a weapon.
Anyone with information on the stabbing is asked to contact Detective Jason Koenig at jason.koenig@police.portlandoregon.gov or Detective William Winters at william.winters@police.portlandoregon.gov, referencing case number 23-331064.