Squatter posing as landlord convicted of fatally stabbing 2 tenants

PORTLAND, Ore. (TCD) -- A 42-year-old man has been convicted of fatally stabbing two people who falsely believed they were renting an apartment from the defendant.

The Multnomah County District Attorney announced April 29 that a jury found Phillip Nelson guilty of the second-degree murder of Cassy Leaton and the first-degree manslaughter of Najaf "Nate" Hobbs. Nelson will be sentenced on May 24.

According to prosecutors, on June 16, 2020, Portland Police officers responded to Northeast Davis Street about a possible stabbing. Officers arrived and found the two victims. Hobbs was pronounced dead at the scene, and Leaton later succumbed to her injuries at the hospital. The district attorney’s office said Nelson had fled before officers arrived.

According to a news release from police, law enforcement officials located Nelson two days later and booked him into the Multnomah County Detention Center initially on two counts of first-degree murder.

According to KOIN-TV, Leaton and Hobbs’ roommate told police that they all believed they were renting an apartment from Nelson, who was actually a squatter in the building.

Nelson wanted more money from Leaton and Hobbs, and when they refused, the defendant started turning their water off, the Oregonian/Oregon Live reports. 

After Hobbs and Leaton went into the basement where the water valve was, Nelson reportedly stabbed Leaton multiple times in the upper back with a 12-inch handmade knife. Nelson allegedly cut Hobbs in the neck and fatally stabbed him in the chest, the Oregonian/Oregon Live reports.

In court, Nelson reportedly confessed to killing the victims and admitted he was "poking the hornet’s nest" when he shut off their water.

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