A 55-year-old woman accused of killing a 75-year-old man in Portland's Centennial neighborhood nearly a year ago is now back in Oregon custody, facing murder charges tied to a death that investigators initially described very differently. Mary Ann McKinzy was extradited from Kern County Jail in California to the Multnomah County Detention Center, according to the Portland Police Bureau.
James S. Miller, 75, was found dead near the 900 block of Southeast 162nd Avenue in the Centennial neighborhood on November 28, 2025, according to koin.com. The Multnomah County Medical Examiner determined that Miller died from blunt-force trauma and classified his death as a homicide. Portland Police Bureau's Homicide Unit later identified McKinzy as a suspect in the case.
The circumstances of Miller's death were initially reported differently than how they were ultimately determined. Early reporting from oregonlive.com described the incident as a stabbing, stating that “a person died early Friday in a stabbing in Southeast Portland, police reported.” KPTV later reported, “the medical examiner determined Miller died of homicide by blunt force trauma and not stabbing.”
An Arrest Across State Lines
As of December 1, 2025, no arrests had been made in the case. That changed on August 5, 2026, when the U.S. Marshals Service arrested McKinzy in Bakersfield, California, per the koin.com report. She was lodged in Kern County Jail before being extradited back to Multnomah County, moving the investigation across state lines to bring her back to face charges in Oregon.
McKinzy now faces second-degree murder, first-degree assault and negligent homicide charges, the same koin.com report states. The case carries reference number 25-325754, according to portlandtribune.com.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact the Portland Police Bureau's tip line at [email protected].
