Could these two Oregon cases really be linked?

A reported investigative connection is worth taking seriously, but it is not the same as a confirmed match. The shared location and the victims being older women are points of similarity, but by themselves they do not establish a common perpetrator. The basis for investigators' view may depend on details that have not been made public.

The differences stand out too. One victim was stabbed, while the other was strangled and found after a house fire. That does not rule out a link, but the summaries do not give enough about the scenes or other evidence to compare the cases meaningfully. I’d call it a possible connection, not a settled conclusion.

For now, the careful answer is that investigators reportedly had reasons to associate the cases, while the public record described here does not let readers assess those reasons. More detailed official records or a clear statement explaining the link would be needed before drawing a stronger conclusion.