Michael Francke was the 42-year-old director of the Oregon Department of Corrections who was killed outside the Dome Building in Salem on the evening of January 17, 1989. He left a meeting, was last seen about 6:45 to 6:50 p.m., and was later found mortally wounded on the Dome Building’s north portico after breaking a pane of glass in a locked door. The medical examiner determined he died from a stab wound to the heart and massive blood loss; the murder weapon was never recovered.

Investigators concluded Francke had been confronted near his car and stabbed three times, with wounds to his coat, left upper arm and chest, plus injuries to his face and hands. The case focused on Frank Edward Gable, who was indicted in April 1990, tried in 1991, convicted on multiple counts of murder and sentenced to life without parole. The prosecution’s case relied heavily on testimony from witnesses who later recanted or changed their accounts, and another man, John Crouse, had repeatedly given statements claiming he killed Francke and provided details that matched the crime scene but was excluded from Gable’s trial.

Given the long history of conflicting witness statements and excluded evidence, what new information or witnesses might finally resolve who killed Michael Francke?