PORTLAND, Ore. — A man was sentenced to life in prison for stabbing and killing two people in Northeast Portland in 2020, the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office said Friday.
Phillip Lawrence Nelson, 42, was found guilty in April of second-degree murder and first-degree murder for the deaths of 39-year-old Najaf “Nate” Hobbs and 22-year-old Cassy Leaton.
On Friday, Multnomah County Circuit Court Judge Eric Dahlin sentenced Nelson to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 35 years served. Nelson was booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center, where he has been held for nearly the past four years. He will be transported to the Oregon Department of Corrections to serve his sentence.
Officers found Hobbs, who was 39 years old, dead after reports of a stabbing near the 1400 block of Northeast Davis Street on June 16, 2020. Leaton, who was 22 years old, later died in the hospital. Nelson left the area before officers arrived. Police identified and arrested him on June 18.
The murder trial occurred between April 8-26. A 12-person jury delivered their guilty verdict on April 26, 2024.
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