A nearly three-decade Springfield murder mystery has a name attached at last. Lane County detectives say modern DNA testing has identified the man responsible for the 1995 killing of Joni Marie Grigsby along the Willamette River in Springfield.
Grigsby’s body was discovered in tall grass along the riverbank near the Springfield bridge on June 2, 1995, when she was 33 years old. Investigators now say a newly confirmed DNA match points to Roy C. Gomes, who died in 2004.
How Detectives Finally Broke the Case
In a June 11 news release, the Lane County Sheriff's Office said DNA collected at the 1995 crime scene was sent to an outside laboratory in 2023. Testing there narrowed the field of potential suspects to a small group.
Detectives then obtained a copy of a DNA sample taken during an autopsy of Roy C. Gomes and submitted it for comparison with the material from the Grigsby crime scene. According to the sheriff’s office, lab analysis confirmed that Gomes’ DNA matched what was found at the scene.
Who Was Joni Grigsby?
Grigsby was 33 when she was found on June 2, 1995. An obituary published at the time described her as a homemaker who also worked as a waitress and who had lived in the area for more than two decades. She was survived by sons Jonathan and David Shores and by brothers John Roberts and Robert Roberts Jr., according to The Register‑Guard.
Local reporting also notes that investigators believe the killing occurred close to where her body was discovered under the Springfield bridge.
The Suspect Behind the DNA Match
Investigators learned that Gomes had been shot and killed by Sacramento police on March 5, 2004, during what authorities described as a violent confrontation, and that he was on parole at the time, the sheriff’s release states.
The DNA sample taken during Gomes’ autopsy became the key to unlocking the case. Once it was obtained by Lane County detectives and matched to the 1995 crime-scene evidence, investigators said it provided a clear genetic link and long-sought answers for Grigsby’s family.
What Comes Next
Detectives notified Grigsby’s family of the findings and thanked the volunteer cold-case team that re-examined the file, according to reporting in The Register‑Guard.
The sheriff’s cold-case unit is staffed largely by retired officers and detectives and is funded through donations, the Lane County Sheriff's Office said. With Gomes deceased, investigators did not announce any further legal action. The news release instead centers on the DNA confirmation and the measure of closure it brings for Grigsby’s loved ones.
