The Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office on Friday publicly identified the woman found dead on a vacant property near Wilsonville.
An autopsy concluded Salem resident Clarissa Anne Hammon-Sweet, 43, died due to “homicidal violence,” according to a news release from sheriff’s officials. They declined to release further details of how Hammon-Sweet died.
Hammon-Sweet was found dead Monday at a property in the process of being sold on the 26000 block of Southwest Stafford Road shortly before noon by a person doing work on the property. The worker initially called deputies for a welfare check, the sheriff’s office said.
No suspects have been identified and it remains an open investigation, sheriff’s officials said.
Spokesperson Brian McCall said Friday he could not comment if Hammon-Sweet’s death is connected to the death of Portland resident Ashley Real, 22, whose body was found in the 29000 block of Southeast Judd Road in the Eagle Creek area of Clackamas County on May 7.
Real’s death was considered “suspicious” and McCall declined to provide an update on the sheriff’s office’s investigation in her case.
Hammon-Sweet is the sixth woman found dead under suspicious circumstances in a secluded location within 100 miles of the Portland area since February. The cases of the women are being investigated by the Portland Police Bureau and sheriff’s offices in Multnomah, Polk, Clark and Clackamas counties.
A source close to the investigations told The Oregonian/OregonLive earlier that authorities are examining possible connections in at least three of the cases.
Police officials with Multnomah, Polk, Clark and Clackamas counties also said they couldn’t comment on any connections between their investigations and the latest killing.
The Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office asked anyone who has information about Hammon-Sweet’s death, her actions in the days leading up to her death and any suspicious activity near Southwest Stafford Road to contact the office tip line by calling 503-723-4949 or through their website.
— Nick Gibson; ngibson@oregonian.com; 971-393-8259; @newsynicholas
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