'Starry Night Murderer' allegedly terrorizing people after early prison release, parole violations
A former Portland nightclub owner convicted in a notorious 1990 murder is back in jail, this time accused of domestic violence and a parole violation in Clackamas County.
Larry Hurwitz, also known as the "Starry Night Murderer," was arrested last week in Sandy on allegations of harassment and fourth-degree assault and is being held on a parole violation, according to jail records. He was booked into the Clackamas County Jail, where bail was set at $500,000.
The Oregon Board of Parole confirmed to Fox News Digital that Hurwitz is serving lifetime post-prison supervision for his murder conviction and has no other underlying convictions under Board supervision. Parole officials said a warrant was issued in 2019, served in 2023, and that Hurwitz was extradited from California.
Board records also show Hurwitz previously had his supervision revoked in August 2019 and served a 180-day sanction.
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Hurwitz was sentenced in 2000 to 11 years in prison for the 1990 murder of his 21-year-old employee, Tim Moreau. Hurwitz was the former owner of the Starry Night Concert Hall in northwest Portland.
According to KPTV, the case was first exposed by veteran journalist Jim Redden in a 1990 Willamette Week investigative series titled "Missing and Presumed Dead." The reporting examined the disappearance of Moreau, who worked as the promotions manager at the Starry Night club.
"He did in fact start this incredibly influential Starry Night club," Redden told KPTV. "He could have climbed to the top of the entire business here in town. But he had this dark side that undermined everything he did."
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Redden told the outlet that from the beginning, he believed Hurwitz was responsible for Moreau’s disappearance, describing Hurwitz as an aggressive businessman with a reputation for selling counterfeit concert tickets at his own venue.
Prosecutors later argued Hurwitz killed Moreau alongside another employee, George Castagnola, to prevent the ticket scheme from being exposed. Hurwitz ultimately entered a no-contest plea. Moreau’s body has never been found.
After Hurwitz’s early release from prison in 2008, Redden told KPTV that Hurwitz continued to have run-ins with law enforcement, including a 2019 drug trafficking case in California.
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"He was arrested in California on a drug trafficking charge down in Huntington Beach, California, with four kilos of cocaine and $320,000 in cash and was convicted on that," Redden said.
Redden told KPTV that while the current arrest appears less severe on its face, it could still have broader implications.
"On the surface, it is a much smaller arrest. It’s domestic violence," Redden said. "But I don’t think that the full story has come out yet. The investigation is ongoing, and there could be some connections to previous cases."
The Clackamas County District Attorney’s Office told Fox News Digital it cannot comment on the specifics of the case, citing an ongoing investigation. Prosecutors said the parole violation process is separate from the criminal case and is handled outside the DA’s office.
Hurwitz is scheduled to appear in court on Feb. 4. His trial is set for March 19.