lit a candle 22 Sept 202638 years old, just taking out the recycling. My cousin was taken the same way, a bullet through an ordinary morning, and reading this brought all of it back up. Twenty years for the man who did it will never give her daughter a mother back. Lord have mercy on her family.
Their story
LaToya Maria Hill was a 38 year old Portland, Oregon woman who was shot and killed outside her own home on September 17, 2024, in the Powellhurst-Gilbert neighborhood of Southeast Portland. She was not a public figure by trade. She became known to a wider audience only because of the…
LaToya Maria Hill was a 38 year old Portland, Oregon woman who was shot and killed outside her own home on September 17, 2024, in the Powellhurst-Gilbert neighborhood of Southeast Portland. She was not a public figure by trade. She became known to a wider audience only because of the manner of her death and the criminal case that followed, a case that concluded with a sentencing more than two years after she was killed.
Hill was born in Portland on June 28, 1986, to Marvin and Ruby Hill, and grew up in the city with her younger brother, Terrence. She attended local Portland schools before going on to build a life centered on her family. At the time of her death she was engaged to Danielle McGruder, and the couple had children together whom they were raising in Southeast Portland.
On the morning of September 17, 2024, Hill was outside her home taking out the recycling when a neighbor, 18 year old Kamari Gates, opened fire. She was struck and taken to a hospital with critical injuries; she died later that day. McGruder, who was inside the house at the time, was also shot at but was not hit. Gates, who police said had known the family for years, fled the scene, prompting an hours long search before he turned himself in to Portland Police three days later. He was initially booked on charges of second degree murder, attempted murder and unlawful use of a weapon.
Hill's death devastated her family and her Southeast Portland community. Neighbors and friends described her as warm and fun loving, and her family publicly asked for privacy in the days after the shooting as they grieved. Her death was ruled a homicide by the Multnomah County Medical Examiner's Office.
The case reached a resolution this month. Gates pleaded guilty in July 2026 to first degree manslaughter in Hill's death and to first degree attempted murder for firing at McGruder, and on September 22, 2026 he was sentenced to 20 years in prison, split into consecutive ten year terms for each charge, followed by three years of post prison supervision. At the sentencing, McGruder spoke about the toll of losing Hill, calling it a loss to their family and their community. The motive for the shooting was never fully explained in public court proceedings, and no other details about a dispute between Gates and the family have been confirmed.
Biography adapted from News reports and the sources cited on this page; death reported by KGW.
So sorry for your loss too. It never really leaves you.