Boyfriend Goes on Family Vacation After Brutally Killing His Girlfriend's Father

Zachary Hackman mugshot, photo courtesy of Portland Police Bureau, Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office. Public domain.

In October 2022, Zachary Hackman seemed carefree as he jogged along the beach in Seaside, Oregon, with his girlfriend’s family. But what his unsuspecting companions didn’t know was that just a day earlier, the 22-year-old had brutally murdered his girlfriend’s father, James Harris, before joining them on vacation as if nothing had happened.

The Violent Crime Unfolds

On Oct. 9, 2022, James Harris, 54, was discovered wrapped in a sleeping bag and hidden in dense brush about 20 feet off Northeast Marine Drive in Portland. An autopsy confirmed that he died on Oct. 4, 2022, after being struck in the head with a hammer and strangled with a dog leash. The motive for the attack is still unclear, but the violence of the act left law enforcement and the victim’s family grappling for answers.

The Day of the Murder

On the day of the murder, surveillance footage showed Hackman covering Harris’ kitchen window with a towel, and it showed Hackman and his girlfriend assisting in loading a large container into her car. LoraJean Harris, Hackman’s girlfriend and James Harris’ daughter, said Hackman asked for her help with what she thought was cleaning up trash. Later, she learned that she had unknowingly helped dispose of her father’s body.

The couple then thoroughly cleaned the house, but forensic investigators still uncovered traces of blood on the walls and ceilings, according to the affidavit by Senior Deputy District Attorney Kevin Demer. Despite her involvement, she has not been charged and told authorities she feared Hackman.

Convicted and Sentenced

On May 13, 2024, Hackman accepted a plea deal and received a 19-year prison sentence from an Oregon judge - 17 years for first-degree manslaughter and 2 more for corpse abuse. Throughout the hearing, Hackman stayed silent, providing no explanation or apology, leaving LoraJean Harris and her family with unanswered questions and grief. His defense attorney shared that Hackman intends to write a letter to the family in an attempt to offer some clarity, but for now, the motive behind his horrific crime remains unknown.

References: Portland killer beat, strangled girlfriend’s father and then went on family vacation; gets 19 years | He Was Vacationing with His Girlfriend’s Family. They Had No Idea He’d Killed Her Father a Day Before the Trip