CHILLING

Portland Man Accused of Randomly Killing One Person Per Month This Year

The victims were killed on Jan. 2, Feb. 2, and March 1.

A Portland man was charged Tuesday with the random murders of three different people—one in each month of this year—and the attempted murders of two others. Joseph Kelly Banks, a 49-year-old resident of a group home for those with mental illness, allegedly gunned down his victims on Jan. 2, Feb. 2, and March 1, prosecutors said. Two victims were found slumped behind the wheels of their cars, while the third was found near his SUV. Minutes before the Feb. 2 killing, Banks allegedly shot another man a block away, while a woman was found shot around noon on Feb. 28. Police allege he didn’t know any of his victims. Banks, who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia and antisocial personal disorder, spent a decade in psychiatric institutions for gun crimes, according to The Oregonian. A former prosecutor warned eight years ago that he “quickly... decompensates” when he’s off his medication. A year ago, he was released to a halfway house.