PSU Homicide Victim ID'd: Amara Marluke Was Student, Activist, Singer

PORTLAND, OR — Portland police on Tuesday identified the woman shot and killed early Monday morning near Portland State University as student Amara Marluke, whom acquaintances described as "an artist and an activist."

Marluke, 19, was killed near Mak's Minimart at Southwest College Street and Southwest Sixth Avenue around 1 a.m., police said. She was a graduate of Sunset High School in Beaverton and was studying sonic arts and music production at the university, police said.

Keenan Harpole, 20, of Bend, was arrested in Marluke's death. He was also a student at Portland State. Harpole was charged with second degree murder-domestic violence and unlawful use of a weapon. He is in custody at Multnomah County Detention Center.

People heard gunshots and called 911 while the alarm company that services the market also notified police that an alarm had been triggered, according to police.

Harpole was a freshman who played football last year for PSU, the school said.

Court papers did not describe how the two knew each other. An official who asked not to be identified to discuss an ongoing investigation pointed to the domestic violence part of the murder charge as "something to pay attention to."

Portland State University President Stephen Percy described Marluke as "an artist and an activist and a member of our community."

On her Instagram page, Marluke wrote that she was a "Black Activist/Songwriter & singer/PSU SAMP."

Marluke was co-president of the Black Student Union at Sunset High School. In a video that she recorded for a Black History Month project for Tualatin Hills Parks & Recreation District, Marluke described the difficult journey she had made accepting her Black identity.

"As a light-skinned individual, for a long time I did not think that I had a right to speak up or to own Black as part of my identity," she said.

As the student union's co-president, Marluke had been able to make "Black spaces" for all types of Black individuals, she said. "The experience has changed my life," she added. "Society will try and trick you into thinking there's one way to be Black, that you have to sound a certain way, look a certain way, present yourself a certain way.

"But that's not true. I challenge you to ask yourself what makes you proud, what does it mean to you to be Black. Take this time and celebrate that you are Black."

On a GoFundMe page meant to raise money for music equipment at school, Marluke said that she was the first generation in her family to go to college.

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