In the late spring of 2021, Kelsey Harris was found dead from a gunshot wound to her head.
She was 31 years old and a high school counselor and coach at Lebanon High School.
Within 14 minutes of being found dead, a death investigator ruled it a suicide.
“I believe Kelsey was murdered and her death staged to look like a suicide,” her mother, Kellee Harris, testified before members of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday afternoon.
Harris urged members of the Senate Judiciary Committee to approve a measure that would direct law enforcement to take certain steps before ruling someone has died from a suicide, overdose, or accident if the person has a history of being a victim of domestic violence.
Shelly Stager, left, and Kellee Harris hold portraits of their daughters, Kaittie Stager and Kelsey Harris, on Monday, Feb. 2, 2026, at the Oregon State Capitol in Salem, Ore. The moms testified in front of the Senate Committee on Judiciary on Monday afternoon.
Saskia Hatvany / OPB
Shortly before Kelsey died, her mom testified that she was strangled by an abusive boyfriend.
“We were never informed of our right to request an autopsy,” Harris told lawmakers, and she said her family was never given the crime scene photos despite many requests.
The Harris family hired independent crime scene experts, she testified to lawmakers, and they suggested a deeper investigation was warranted based on “blood splatter analysis, incorrectly identified bullet entry and exit points, gun placement and body position.”
Under Senate Bill 1550, if a death meets certain requirements, it would automatically trigger an investigation. If a person’s death was premature or untimely, or if the scene suggests suicide, overdose, an accident, or if they have a history of domestic violence, a deeper investigation would be required.
The measure would also require more training for law enforcement officials.
It’s been coined the “hidden homicide” bill, and it would require that families be given more information about the crime scene.
Shelly Stager, of Eugene, told state lawmakers her daughter was only 26 when she was found dead. Her death was also ruled a suicide. According to her mother, Kaittie had only known her abuser for a little more than a year.
“The abuse escalated quickly into violence and control,” Stager said. “The abuse was documented, and her abuser has a long history of domestic violence.”
A similar measure passed in 2024 in California and was signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Between 2013 and 2022, nearly 400 people died in Oregon due to domestic violence homicides, according to information from the state’s health authority. Those who died were mostly women (56%).
Sen. Sara Gelser Blouin, D-Corvallis, who is sponsoring the bill, along with several others, said the young women were all “very loved women whose lives were a lot more than this, and I’m grateful to their families for honoring them by working to protect women.”
Gina Skinner, a senior deputy district attorney for Washington County, told lawmakers she’s been prosecuting domestic violence crimes for more than two decades.
“Too many times, the abuser is the one that is there when law enforcement arrives,” Skinner said. “They control the narrative, they control the scene, and they control the information that is provided to law enforcement.”
The measure is scheduled for a public hearing on Thursday in the Senate Committee on Judiciary. The bill has bipartisan support.
