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m Eldest suspected victim (Portland Elk) was around 35 years old.
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==Murders==
==Murders==
Between 1971 and 1983, Randy Kraft is believed to have killed a total of 67 victims. All of Kraft's suspected victims were males between the ages of 13 and 30,<ref>[http://articles.latimes.com/1988-10-02/local/me-4891_1_kraft-case-randy/ LA Times Oct. 2, 1988.]</ref> the majority of whom were aged in their late teens to mid twenties. Kraft was charged with—and convicted of—16 of these homicides, all of which had occurred between 1972 and 1983. Many of Kraft's victims had been enlisted in the [[United States Marines|Marines]]<ref>[http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/predators/kraft/8.html/ TruTv.]</ref> and most of his victims' bodies bore evidence of high levels of both [[alcohol]] and [[tranquilizers]] in their blood systems, indicating they had been rendered insensate before they had been abused and killed.
Between 1971 and 1983, Randy Kraft is believed to have killed a total of 67 victims. All of Kraft's suspected victims were males aged between 13 and 35,<ref>[http://articles.latimes.com/1988-10-02/local/me-4891_1_kraft-case-randy/ LA Times Oct. 2, 1988.]</ref><ref>[http://doenetwork.org/cases/1281umor.html/ Doenetwork.org]</ref> the majority of whom were aged in their late teens to mid twenties. Kraft was charged with—and convicted of—16 of these homicides, all of which had occurred between 1972 and 1983. Many of Kraft's victims had been enlisted in the [[United States Marines|Marines]]<ref>[http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/predators/kraft/8.html/ TruTv.]</ref> and most of his victims' bodies bore evidence of high levels of both [[alcohol]] and [[tranquilizers]] in their blood systems, indicating they had been rendered insensate before they had been abused and killed.


Kraft's victims were typically lured into his vehicle with an offer of a lift or alcohol. Inside Kraft's vehicle, the victims would be plied with alcohol and/or drugs. They then were bound, [[torture]]d and [[sexual abuse|sexually abused]] before they were usually killed by either strangulation, [[asphyxiate|asphyxiation]] or bludgeoning, although some victims had also ingested fatal doses of pharmaceuticals and at least one victim was stabbed to death.<ref>[http://articles.latimes.com/1988-10-02/local/me-4891_1_kraft-case-randy/3/ LA Times.]</ref> The victims would then be discarded, usually—though not exclusively—alongside or close to various freeways in southern California. (Photographic evidence found at Kraft's home indicates several of his victims were driven to his house before their murder.)<ref>Angel of Darkness ISBN 978-0-7088-5342-9 p, 311.</ref>
Kraft's victims were typically lured into his vehicle with an offer of a lift or alcohol. Inside Kraft's vehicle, the victims would be plied with alcohol and/or drugs. They then were bound, [[torture]]d and [[sexual abuse|sexually abused]] before they were usually killed by either strangulation, [[asphyxiate|asphyxiation]] or bludgeoning, although some victims had also ingested fatal doses of pharmaceuticals and at least one victim was stabbed to death.<ref>[http://articles.latimes.com/1988-10-02/local/me-4891_1_kraft-case-randy/3/ LA Times.]</ref> The victims would then be discarded, usually—though not exclusively—alongside or close to various freeways in southern California. (Photographic evidence found at Kraft's home indicates several of his victims were driven to his house before their murder.)<ref>Angel of Darkness ISBN 978-0-7088-5342-9 p, 311.</ref>
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On October 5, 1971, police found the nude body of a 30-year-old Long Beach resident named Wayne Dukette discarded close to the [[California State Route 74|Ortega Highway]]. Dukette, a bartender at a gay bar named ''Stables'', had last been seen alive on September 20, 1971. [[Putrefaction]] had erased any signs of foul play upon the body, and the cause of death was listed as acute alcohol poisoning due to a high blood alcohol level.<ref>Angel of Darkness ISBN 978-0-7088-5342-9 p, 47.</ref>
On October 5, 1971, police found the nude body of a 30-year-old Long Beach resident named Wayne Dukette discarded close to the [[California State Route 74|Ortega Highway]]. Dukette, a bartender at a gay bar named ''Stables'', had last been seen alive on September 20, 1971. [[Putrefaction]] had erased any signs of foul play upon the body, and the cause of death was listed as acute alcohol poisoning due to a high blood alcohol level.<ref>Angel of Darkness ISBN 978-0-7088-5342-9 p, 47.</ref>


The first entry upon Kraft's '' 'Scorecard' '' simply reads 'Stable', leading investigators to believe Dukette to be Kraft's first victim.
The first entry upon Kraft's '' 'Scorecard' '' simply reads '' 'Stable' '', leading investigators to believe Dukette to be Kraft's first victim.


===Subsequent murders===
===Subsequent murders===
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In the summer of 1980, Kraft traveled to the neighboring state of Oregon as part of a contractual assignment delegated to him by his employers.<ref>Angel of Darkness ISBN 978-0-7088-5342-9 p, 167.</ref> Throughout the duration of his deployment, Kraft resided in a town close to [[Portland, Oregon|Portland]]. Before he returned to California in August, he is believed to have claimed a further two victims—both of whom were listed upon his scorecard with cryptic references including the word '' 'Portland' ''. The first victim, a 17-year-old [[Denver]] youth named Michael O' Fallon, was killed on July 17. O' Fallon had been on a solo hitchhiking trip across America and Canada prior to his enrollment at college at the time of his murder. He was plied with both alcohol and Valium before he was strangled to death and his nude, [[hogtie]]d body discarded ten miles south of the city of [[Salem, Oregon|Salem]].<ref>[http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/predators/kraft/7.html/ TruTV.com. p.7]</ref> O' Fallon was listed upon Kraft's scorecard as '' 'Portland Denver'. '' The following day, Kraft is believed to have killed an unidentified male estimated to be aged between 35 and 40 years old<ref>[http://doenetwork.org/cases/1281umor.html/ Doenetwork.org]</ref> whose body was found alongside a freeway in the city of [[Woodburn, Oregon|Woodburn]]. This victim—listed as '' 'Portland Elk' '' upon Kraft's scorecard—had ingested a toxic level of Valium and Tylenol before he was strangled to death.
In the summer of 1980, Kraft traveled to the neighboring state of Oregon as part of a contractual assignment delegated to him by his employers.<ref>Angel of Darkness ISBN 978-0-7088-5342-9 p, 167.</ref> Throughout the duration of his deployment, Kraft resided in a town close to [[Portland, Oregon|Portland]]. Before he returned to California in August, he is believed to have claimed a further two victims—both of whom were listed upon his scorecard with cryptic references including the word '' 'Portland' ''. The first victim, a 17-year-old [[Denver]] youth named Michael O' Fallon, was killed on July 17. O' Fallon had been on a solo hitchhiking trip across America and Canada prior to his enrollment at college at the time of his murder. He was plied with both alcohol and Valium before he was strangled to death and his nude, [[hogtie]]d body discarded ten miles south of the city of [[Salem, Oregon|Salem]].<ref>[http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/predators/kraft/7.html/ TruTV.com. p.7]</ref> O' Fallon was listed upon Kraft's scorecard as '' 'Portland Denver'. '' The following day, Kraft is believed to have killed an unidentified male estimated to be aged between 35 and 40 years old<ref>[http://doenetwork.org/cases/1281umor.html/ Doenetwork.org]</ref> whose body was found alongside a freeway in the city of [[Woodburn, Oregon|Woodburn]]. This victim—listed as '' 'Portland Elk' '' upon Kraft's scorecard—had ingested a toxic level of Valium and Tylenol before he was strangled to death.


On September 3, 1980, the bound body of a 19-year-old Marine named Robert Loggins was found discarded in a trash bag located close to the El Toro Marine Air base. Loggins had last been seen alive by two fellow Marines close to the [[Pacific Coast Highway]] on August 23. Photographs—and their respective original [[photographic negative|negatives]]—subsequently found in Kraft's possession depict Loggins in Kraft's living room both slumped fully clothed upon his sofa, apparently intoxicated, and in various nude, pornographic postures. All these pictures depict Loggins with his eyes closed and it is unknown whether the youth is alive or dead at the time they were taken.<ref>[Murder Casebook ISBN 0-7485-3874-7 p. 4659.]</ref>
On September 3, 1980, the bound body of a 19-year-old Marine named Robert Loggins was found discarded in a trash bag located close to the El Toro Marine Air base. Loggins had last been seen alive by two fellow Marines close to the Pacific Coast Highway on August 23. Photographs—and their respective original [[photographic negative|negatives]]—subsequently found in Kraft's possession depict Loggins in Kraft's living room both slumped fully clothed upon his sofa, apparently intoxicated, and in various nude, pornographic postures. All these pictures depict Loggins with his eyes closed and it is unknown whether the youth is alive or dead at the time they were taken.<ref>[Murder Casebook ISBN 0-7485-3874-7 p. 4659.]</ref>


===Final murder and arrest===
===Final murder and arrest===

Revision as of 07:46, 29 November 2012

Randy Kraft
File:RandySKraft1989.jpg
Randy Kraft, pictured during his trial in 1989.
Born
Randy Steven Kraft

(1945-03-19) March 19, 1945 (age 79)
Long Beach, California, United States
Other namesThe Freeway Killer,
The Scorecard Killer
Conviction(s)Murder
Rape
Mutilation[1]
Criminal penaltyDeath
Details
Victims16–67
Span of crimes
September 20, 1971 – May 13, 1983
CountryUnited States
State(s)California
Oregon
Michigan[2]
Date apprehended
May 14, 1983

Randolph Steven "Randy" Kraft (born March 19, 1945) is an American serial killer known as both the "Scorecard Killer" and the "Freeway Killer"[3] who committed the rape, torture, mutilation and murder of a minimum of 16 young men in a series of killings spanning between between 1972 and 1983; the majority of which had been committed in California. Kraft is also believed to have committed the rape and murder of up to 51 further boys and young men. He was convicted in May, 1989[4] of murdering 16 victims and is currently incarcerated upon death row at San Quentin State Prison in Marin County, California.

Kraft became known as both the Scorecard Killer and the Freeway Killer due to the fact many of his victims' bodies were discovered alongside or close to various freeways.[5] and the fact that upon his arrest, investigators discovered a coded list depicting cryptic references to his victims.[6]

Early life

Randolph Steven Kraft's was born in Long Beach on March 19, 1945; the fourth child and only son born to Harold and Opal Kraft.[7] Kraft's parents had immigrated to California from Wyoming at the outbreak of World War II;[8] his father, Harold, worked as a production worker, whereas his mother worked as a sewing machine operator.

The Kraft family lived a modest existence, and Kraft's mother undertook a succession of jobs to supplement her husband's salary. Nonetheless, Kraft's mother always found time for her children, whereas Kraft's father seldom attended any social gatherings with his wife and children, and was later described as being "distanced" from his family.[9] As a child Randy was doted on by his three older sisters and mother[10] although he was known to be accident prone.

In 1948, the Kraft family moved from Long Beach to Midway City, California in neighboring Orange County.[11] The Kraft's new family home in Midway City was a small, wood-frame Women's Army Corps dormitory on Beach Boulevard that Kraft's father, Harold, himself renovated into a three-bedroom house.[12]

In Midway City, Kraft attended Midway City Elementary school, where his mother served on the PTA. As a scholar, Kraft was noted for his intelligence by both classmates and teachers alike. By 1957, Kraft was deemed intelligent enough to attend accelerated classes at 17th Street Junior High School.[12]

Adolescence and graduation

By adolescence, Kraft had taken a keen interest in politics, becoming a staunch Republican[13] with aspirations to become a U.S. senator. Shortly after his enrollment at Westminster High School, he and two close friends founded a Westminster World Affairs Club. At Westminster High school, Kraft was again regarded as a pleasant, bright student who regularly achieved A grades.[14] He was also known to occasionally date girls[15] although some classmates and teachers later stated they suspected Kraft was homosexual.

Kraft later stated he had known from his high school days that he was homosexual, although he initially kept his sexuality a secret. On June 13, 1963, he graduated tenth out of a class of 390 pupils.[16] That fall, he enrolled at Claremont Men's College[17] in Claremont, California, where he pursued a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics.

Claremont College

Shortly after his enrollment as a freshman at Claremont Men's College, Kraft enrolled in the Claremont Reserve Officers Training Corps[18] and he regularly attended demonstrations both in favor of the Vietnam War and—in 1964—for the election of conservative presidential candidate Barry Goldwater. Kraft himself later declared these actions were merely a mimic of his parents' political views and not heartfelt from himself, describing his second year at Claremont as being when he abandoned "last gasp" of conservative ideology.[19] The same year, Kraft entered his first known homosexual relationship.

In 1964, Kraft began working as a bartender at a local Garden Grove cocktail lounge catering to gay clientele; he was also known to regularly travel to both Laguna Beach and Huntington Beach for casual sex with hustlers. In an apparent tentative effort to announce his sexuality to his parents, Kraft took a succession of male "friends" to meet his family in the years he was enrolled at Claremont, although he was also known to occasionally date girls. Initially, however, Kraft's parents and sisters were oblivious to his homosexuality.[20] The following year, he developed a radical shift in his political beliefs; becoming an ardent supporter of left-wing politics, eventually registering as a Democrat in 1967.[21]

In 1966, Kraft was arrested and charged with lewd conduct after propositioning an undercover policeman in Huntington Beach;[22] as he had no previous criminal record, no charges were filed.

The same year he had registered as a Democrat, Kraft became a party organizer; campaigning tirelessly for the election of Robert Kennedy and receiving a personal letter from the senator himself, thanking him for his efforts. By his senior year, Kraft had become somewhat complacent student: drinking, experimenting with drugs and regularly attending all-night gambling and poker sessions with other students.[23] The lack of commitment to his studies in his final year resulted in Kraft failing to graduate from Claremont in June, 1967. Kraft had to repeat his econometrics class, resulting in his graduation being deferred by eight months. In February 1968, Kraft graduated from Claremont Men's College with a Bachelor of Arts in economics.

U.S. Air Force

Four months after his graduation from Claremont Men's College, Kraft joined the U.S. Air Force. He was initially sent to a boot camp in Texas before being stationed at Edwards Air Force Base in southern California, where he supervised the painting of test planes.[24] In his service within the U.S. Air Force, Kraft rose to the rank of Airman First Class and supervisor-manager.[25]

The same year Kraft became an Airman First Class, he finally disclosed to his family that he was homosexual. In a letter Kraft wrote to a friend, he described his father as having flew "into a rage," whereas he described his mother as being more understanding, if somewhat disapproving.[26] Kraft's family accepted his sexuality, and he remained in close contact with his parents and siblings, although his siblings noted he began to "distance himself" from his family after he had announced his sexuality to them.[27]

On July 26, 1969, Kraft received a general discharge from the Air Force after announcing his sexuality to his superiors, The discharge was officially listed as being on "medical" grounds. In response, Kraft sought legal advice from an attorney in attempt to challenge the grounds regarding his discharge from the air force. The air force, however, refused to change the status of his discharge.

Following his military discharge, Kraft moved back into his parents' home and initially worked as a bartender.

First known sexual assault

In March 1970, Kraft encountered a 13-year-old Westminster youth named Joey Fancher at Huntington Beach.[28] Fancher explained to Kraft that he had run away from home that day. In response, Kraft invited the youth to accompany him to his apartment on the promise that he could live with him. Fancher agreed and accompanied Kraft to his Belmont Shore apartment where he was drugged, then raped. Hours later, Fancher escaped from Kraft's apartment after Kraft left the youth unattended in the apartment to go to work. A member of the public summoned an ambulance having noted the youth's drugged and disheveled state: Fancher required his stomach pumped as a result of the drugs he had ingested.

At the hospital, Fancher informed police Kraft had given him drugs and beaten him: He did not divulge to either his parents or the police that he had been sexually assaulted.[29] A search of Kraft's apartment was conducted, with the cooperation of Kraft's roommate. However, as Fancher had confessed to police he had taken the pills offered to him voluntarily and the search officers had conducted without a warrant. no charges were filed.

Enrollment at Long Beach State University

In 1971, Kraft found new employment as a forklift truck driver in Huntington Beach. In an effort to further his career prospects following his military discharge two years earlier, he enrolled at Long Beach State University, undertaking teaching courses. At Long Beach State University, Kraft became acquainted with a fellow teaching student named Jeff Graves—a Minnesota youth four years younger than he and with whom Kraft began a relationship.[30]

Murders

Between 1971 and 1983, Randy Kraft is believed to have killed a total of 67 victims. All of Kraft's suspected victims were males aged between 13 and 35,[31][32] the majority of whom were aged in their late teens to mid twenties. Kraft was charged with—and convicted of—16 of these homicides, all of which had occurred between 1972 and 1983. Many of Kraft's victims had been enlisted in the Marines[33] and most of his victims' bodies bore evidence of high levels of both alcohol and tranquilizers in their blood systems, indicating they had been rendered insensate before they had been abused and killed.

Kraft's victims were typically lured into his vehicle with an offer of a lift or alcohol. Inside Kraft's vehicle, the victims would be plied with alcohol and/or drugs. They then were bound, tortured and sexually abused before they were usually killed by either strangulation, asphyxiation or bludgeoning, although some victims had also ingested fatal doses of pharmaceuticals and at least one victim was stabbed to death.[34] The victims would then be discarded, usually—though not exclusively—alongside or close to various freeways in southern California. (Photographic evidence found at Kraft's home indicates several of his victims were driven to his house before their murder.)[35]

Many of Kraft's victims were burned with a car cigarette lighter, usually around the genitals, chest and face, and several victims were found with extensive blunt force trauma to their face and head.[36] In several instances, foreign objects were found inserted into the victims' anus while other victims had suffered emasculation or mutilation and dismemberment.

The majority of Kraft's murders were committed in California, although some victims had been killed in the neighboring state of Oregon, with two further known victims being murdered the northeastern state of Michigan in December 1982.[37]

First suspected victim

On October 5, 1971, police found the nude body of a 30-year-old Long Beach resident named Wayne Dukette discarded close to the Ortega Highway. Dukette, a bartender at a gay bar named Stables, had last been seen alive on September 20, 1971. Putrefaction had erased any signs of foul play upon the body, and the cause of death was listed as acute alcohol poisoning due to a high blood alcohol level.[38]

The first entry upon Kraft's 'Scorecard' simply reads 'Stable' , leading investigators to believe Dukette to be Kraft's first victim.

Subsequent murders

Fifteen months after the murder of Dukette, Kraft killed a 20-year-old Marine named Edward Moore. Moore was seen alive leaving the barracks at Camp Pendleton on Christmas Eve, 1972. His body was found alongside the 405 Freeway in the early hours of Boxing Day. Abrasions on Moore's body indicated he had been discarded from a moving vehicle. An autopsy revealed Moore had been bound about the wrists and ankles, then beaten with a blunt instrument about the face before he was garrotted. His body also bore evidence of numerous bite marks and a sock had been forced into his rectum.

Six weeks after the murder of Edward Moore, the body of an unidentified youth estimated to be around 18 years old[39] was found alongside the Terminal Island Freeway in Los Angeles. This victim had been strangled by a ligature and had also had a sock placed in his rectum. Two months later, on April 9, the body of 18-year-old Kevin Bailey was found alongside a road in Huntington Beach.[40] Bailey had been emasculated and sodomized prior to his murder. By July 28, a further two victims had been found murdered: an unidentified youth whose dismembered body was found on April 22 and a 20-year-old named Ronnie Wiebe, whose strangled body was discarded alongside an onramp to the 405 Freeway on July 30 - two days after he had disappeared. Welt marks on Wiebe's wrists and ankles suggested he had been bound and suspended from a device before his murder.[41]

Kraft is only known to have killed once more in 1973. The victim was a 23-year-old bisexual art student named Vincent Cruz Mestas, whose body was found in the San Bernardino Mountains on December 29.[42] As had been the case with several previous victims, one of Mestas's socks had been forced into his rectum. Mestas's hands had also been severed from his body, and were never found. By November of 1974, a further five victims had been found alongside or close to mass transportation in southern California; three of which had been conclusively linked to the same killer. Two of these victims—20-year-old Malcolm Little and 19-year-old James Reeves—had each been found alongside a freeway with foreign objects inserted into their bodies, whereas the body of the third victim, 18-year-old Marine Roger Dickerson, bore evidence of bite marks much as several earlier victims had.

1975

On January 3, 1975, Kraft abducted and murdered a 17-year-old high school student named John Leras.[43] The youth was last seen boarding a bus in Long Beach; his strangled body was found the following day, discarded at Sunset Beach with a foreign object protruding from his anus. Drag marks along the beach close to where his body had been discarded indicate two individuals had carried Leras's body into the water. Two weeks after Leras's murder, on January 17, the body of a 21-year-old named Craig Jonaites was found discarded in the parking lot of a hotel located close to the Pacific Coast Highway. Jonaites had been strangled to death with a length of string, possibly a shoelace.

Investigation

By January of 1975, a total of 14 victims whose bodies had been found discarded across four separate counties within the previous three years had been linked to the same killer. All the victims had been Caucasian males with similar physical characteristics. On January 24, homicide investigators from several jurisdictions in southern California convened in Orange County to discuss progress in the hunt for the unknown killer.[44] An FBI profile of the killer was read to investigators, describing the individual as a methodical, organized lust killer of above average intelligence who exhibited an indifference to the "interests and welfare of society."[45] Some investigators believed the murders to be the work of more than one individual, one or more of whom had a military background: Two victims' bodies had tissue residue on their noses; this was known to be a military procedure to prevent bodies from purging after death. The placing of socks inside the victims' rectums was also theorized to be a method used by the killer to prevent purging as the body was driven to the disposal location.[46]

At this stage, investigators had no solid suspects.

Murder of Keith Crotwell

In the early hours of March 29, 1975, Kraft lured two youths named Keith Crotwell and Kent May from a Long Beach parking lot into his Ford Mustang.[47] Both youths were plied with beer and Valium as Kraft drove in an apparently random, directionless manner around Belmont Shore and Seal Beach. May later recalled feeling catatonic as a result of the Valium and alcohol he had ingested before he passed out.

In the Long Beach parking lot where Crotwell and May had last been seen, two friends of both Crotwell and May observed a distinctive black and white Ford Mustang rapidly enter and draw to a halt before the driver leaned across towards the back seat, opened the rear door and pushed the unconscious (but otherwise unharmed) Kent May onto the ground. The driver then drove away from the parking lot at speed. A he did so, the two friends of Crotwell and May noted Crotwell slumped against the unknown driver's shoulder.[48]

On May 8, the skull of Keith Crotwell was found in a jetty close to the Long Beach Marina. (The remainder of his body was found six months later.)[49] Upon hearing the news, the two youths who had observed the Ford Mustang entering the parking lot and discarding May onto the ground, suspecting Crotwell's murderer to have been a patron of a Belmont Shore gay bar, scoured their neighborhood for the distinctive Ford Mustang they had observed. Upon locating the vehicle less than one mile from their home, the youths noted the license plate number and relayed the information to police. The registration of the vehicle was traced to one Randy Steven Kraft.

Interrogation and release

Kraft was questioned by Long Beach Police in relation to the abduction and murder of Crotwell on May 19, 1975. Initially, Kraft denied having ever met either Crotwell or May. Police were initially skeptical of Kraft's denial and summoned him to the police station for further questioning.[50]

At the Long Beach police station, Kraft admitted that on or around March 29, he had encountered two youths in the Long Beach parking lot in question and had persuaded the two individuals to drink alcohol and consume Valium with him as he drove. He claimed to have returned one youth (May) to the parking lot and then to have driven with Crotwell to a side road close to the El Toro offramp where his car subsequently became embedded upon an embankment, whereupon he claimed to have walked alone to a gas station to call a tow truck to winch his vehicle from the embankment as Crotwell remained with his vehicle. Upon returning to his vehicle, Kraft claimed, Crotwell was nowhere to be seen.[51]

Although Kraft's roommate was able to verify to detectives that Kraft had phoned him on the date of Crotwell's disappearance claiming his vehicle was stuck upon an embankment, detectives remained unconvinced with Kraft's overall version of events. The following week, two detectives attempted to file homicide charges against Kraft. However, the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office dismissed the detectives' request, citing that the coroner had concluded in his autopsy of the remains thus far found (solely the youth's skull) that the youth had died of accidental drowning.[52][53]

Perhaps due both to his having been questioned as a suspect in relation to the murder of Keith Crotwell and additional turmoil in his personal life in the summer of 1975, Kraft is not known to have killed again until December 31, when he abducted a 22 year old named Mark Hall in San Juan Capistrano.[54] In this murder, later described by prosecutors as "the worst" of all of the known murders committed by Kraft,[55] the youth was driven to a remote canyon where he was bound to a tree. The official autopsy report listed the cause of death as being asphyxiation caused by leaves and loam found lodged deep into the youth's trachea. The autopsy also revealed Hall had been sodomized and emasculated; with his severed genitals then inserted into his rectum. The youth's chest, scrotum, nose and cheeks had been burned with an automobile cigarette lighter, with his eyes being destroyed by the same object. In addition, Hall's legs bore numerous incisions inflicted by a broken bottle. Forensic experts were able to deduce that Hall had been alive throughout much of the ordeal.

Relationship with Jeff Seelig

By 1976, Kraft had ended his relationship with Jeff Graves. Shortly thereafter, he began a relationship with a 19 year old apprentice baker named Jeff Seelig and the couple moved to Laguna Hills. Although neither man was inclined towards monogamy, the couple considered their relationship permanent.[56] Seelig later informed investigators that he and Kraft regularly picked up and propositioned hitchhikers who, if willing, would accompany them to their apartment for a sexual threesome. However, Seelig was adamant that Kraft had never been violent towards him and that he had never seen him display violent tendencies.

Kraft's relationship with Seelig is believed to be a contributory factor in the sudden lull in murders he is known to have committed.[57] He is not known to have killed again until December 10, 1976. The body of the victim, 19-year-old Paul Fuchs, has never been found. Nonetheless, Fuchs' name is clearly listed on Kraft's scorecard.[58]

Resurfacing of the Freeway Killer

Following the December 1976 murder of Paul Fuchs, Kraft is not known to have killed any further victims for sixteen months. On January 3, 1978, homicide investigators again convened to discuss progress in relation to the manhunt for the perpetrator of the freeway murders.[59] By this stage, investigators knew there was more than one murderer at large: The previous July, police had arrested a man named Patrick Kearney, who subsequently confessed to the murders of 28 boys and young men; many of whom he had dissected and discarded in trash bags alongside freeways in southern California. Kearney's modus operandi significantly differed from that of Kraft, and investigators were in no doubt that an altogether separate killer was still at large.

On April 16, 1978, Kraft abducted an 18-year-old Marine named Scott Hughes. Hughes was plied with Valium before Kraft removed one of his testicles, then strangled him to death and discarded his body alongside a freeway in Anaheim. Two months later, on June 11, the body of 23-year-old Roland Young was found near a San Diego freeway. Young had been emasculated before he was stabbed to death. Abrasions to his body indicated that Young had been thrown from vehicle traveling at high speed. Eight days later, the body of a 20-year-old Camp Pendleton Marine named Richard Keith was found discarded alongside a road in Moulton Parkway. Welts on Keith's wrists indicated he had been bound before he was strangled with a ligature. Froth in Keith's throat indicated the youth was also drowning as a result of flurazepam and alcohol he had consumed at the time he was strangled.

Three weeks after the murder of Richard Keith, on July 6, Kraft killed a 23-year-old hitchhiker named Keith Klingbeil. The youth had been plied with a large dose of Tylenol before he was strangled to death and his body discarded alongside the Interstate 5 freeway.[60] Two months later, on September 29, the body of 20-year-old Richard Crosby was found discarded 200 yards north of Highway 71 in San Bernardino County.[61] Crosby had disappeared the previous day as he hitchhiked home from a theater in Torrance. The youth had died of suffocation. In addition, his left nipple had been mutilated with an automobile cigarette lighter. The last known victim claimed by Kraft in 1978 was a 21-year-old Long Beach truck driver named Michael Inderbieten, whose castrated body was found alongside the San Diego freeway on November 18, 1978. In addition to castration. Inderbieten had suffered burn wounds similar to those inflicted upon victim Mark Hall two years previously. The cause of death was listed as suffocation.

Later murders

Kraft is not known to have killed again until June 16, 1979, when he abducted a 20-year-old Marine named Donald Crisel. His body was thrown from a moving vehicle onto the 405 Freeway. The cause of death was listed as acute alcohol poisoning; although rope and burn marks indicated the Arkansas-born youth had been bound and tortured prior to his body being discarded. Kraft is only known to have killed on two further occasions in 1979. The first of these two victims is an unidentified youth whose dismembered body was found behind a Union 76 gas station on August 29,[62] whereas the dismembered body of the last known victim of 1979, 20-year-old Gregory Jolley, was found in Lake Arrowhead on September 14. His personal possessions were later found at Kraft's home.[63]

On February 18, 1980, the decapitated body of a 19-year-old Marine named Mark Alan Marsh was found near the Templin Highway. Marsh was last seen hitchhiking towards Buena Park.[64] His hands had also been severed from his body after death.

Portland murders

In the summer of 1980, Kraft traveled to the neighboring state of Oregon as part of a contractual assignment delegated to him by his employers.[65] Throughout the duration of his deployment, Kraft resided in a town close to Portland. Before he returned to California in August, he is believed to have claimed a further two victims—both of whom were listed upon his scorecard with cryptic references including the word 'Portland' . The first victim, a 17-year-old Denver youth named Michael O' Fallon, was killed on July 17. O' Fallon had been on a solo hitchhiking trip across America and Canada prior to his enrollment at college at the time of his murder. He was plied with both alcohol and Valium before he was strangled to death and his nude, hogtied body discarded ten miles south of the city of Salem.[66] O' Fallon was listed upon Kraft's scorecard as 'Portland Denver'. The following day, Kraft is believed to have killed an unidentified male estimated to be aged between 35 and 40 years old[67] whose body was found alongside a freeway in the city of Woodburn. This victim—listed as 'Portland Elk' upon Kraft's scorecard—had ingested a toxic level of Valium and Tylenol before he was strangled to death.

On September 3, 1980, the bound body of a 19-year-old Marine named Robert Loggins was found discarded in a trash bag located close to the El Toro Marine Air base. Loggins had last been seen alive by two fellow Marines close to the Pacific Coast Highway on August 23. Photographs—and their respective original negatives—subsequently found in Kraft's possession depict Loggins in Kraft's living room both slumped fully clothed upon his sofa, apparently intoxicated, and in various nude, pornographic postures. All these pictures depict Loggins with his eyes closed and it is unknown whether the youth is alive or dead at the time they were taken.[68]

Final murder and arrest

At 1:10 a.m. on May 14, 1983, two California Highway Patrol officers pulled over a brown Toyota Celica driven by Kraft that had been weaving erratically on the San Diego Freeway in the Orange County community of Mission Viejo. As Kraft exited the car, he dumped the contents of a beer bottle onto the pavement. Officer Michael Sterling met Kraft at the front of his patrol car and observed that his jeans were unbuttoned. Sterling had Kraft perform a series of field sobriety tests, which he failed, and Sterling arrested Kraft for driving while intoxicated.

Sterling's partner Sgt. Michael Howard approached the Celica and saw a man in the passenger's seat, partially covered by a jacket with empty beer bottles around his feet. Later identified as Terry Lee Gambrel, a 25-year-old U.S. Marine, he had been strangled with his own belt. Other incriminating evidence was found in the car, including alcohol, tranquilizers, other prescription drugs and an envelope containing 47 pictures of young men in pornographic poses, appearing either asleep or dead.[69] The passenger seat was heavily bloodstained; however Gambrel had no open wounds. The officers turned Kraft over to the Orange County Sheriff's Department for further investigation. More evidence was found in the house Kraft shared with his partner, including clothes and personal possessions of young men who had turned up dead at the side of freeways over the last decade, and many photos of victims either unconscious or dead.

Victims
1. Edward Moore (20) – December 24, 1972[70]
2. Kevin Bailey (18) – April 9, 1973[71]
3. Ronnie Wiebe (20) – July 28, 1973
4. Keith Crotwell, (18) – March 30, 1975
5. Mark Hall (22) – January 1, 1976
6. Scott Hughes (18) – April 16, 1978
7. Roland Young (23) – June 11, 1978
8. Richard Keith (20) – June 19, 1978[72]
9. Keith Klingbeil (23) – July 8, 1978
10. Michael Inderbieten (21) – November 18, 1978
11. Donald Crisel (20) – June 16, 1979
12. Robert Loggins (19) – August 23, 1980[73]
13. Eric Church (21) – January 27, 1983[74]
14. Rodger DeVaul (20) – February 12, 1983
15. Geoffrey Nelson (18) – February 12, 1983
16. Terry Lee Gambrel (25) – May 14, 1983[75]

Trial

It was also discovered that Kraft kept a coded list of 61 neatly-printed terms and phrases such as "JAIL OUT" and "EDM" in his car. Upon closer investigation, the list was discovered to be a cryptic "scorecard" of his many victims: "JAIL OUT" referring to 23-year-old Roland Young (released from the Orange County drunk tank hours before his murder) and "EDM" to the initials of Edward Daniel Moore. The list also included four double murders, leading to a total of 65 listed victims. Two of the victims, Eric Church and Terry Gambrel, appear unlisted for unknown reasons. However, since the list is in code, the possibility exists that Eric Church and Terry Gambrel are listed in a way that investigators cannot recognize, which would lead to a total of 67 listed victims.

Kraft was eventually charged with 16 homicides committed between December 1972 and May, 1983.[76] He pleaded not guilty at his trial in 1988, but he was convicted on all counts and sentenced to death on November 29, 1989. The death sentence was upheld by the California Supreme Court on August 11, 2000. Kraft is currently on death row at the San Quentin State Prison.

To date, 22 of Kraft's 67 estimated victims remain unrecovered and unidentified. This is due in part to the killings occurring throughout several states with bodies dumped in varying locations. A John Doe identified in 2012 as U.S. Marine Oral Alfred Stuart, Jr. who was found beaten to death in Long Beach in November of 1974 is believed to be a victim of Kraft.[77]

Missing accomplice

Certain details surrounding some of Kraft's murders have caused many to suspect that Kraft did not always act alone.

  • Forensic evidence in two cases point to an accomplice — an extra set of footprints and semen that did not match Kraft's DNA. (During the trial, members of the prosecution admitted privately that they did not charge Kraft in several murders that they were sure he had committed because of these facts.)[78]
  • Kraft would have had difficulty moving around 200-pound corpses; dumping them from cars alone would also be difficult to do unnoticed.
  • The snapshots Kraft had of the dead men were processed somewhere, but no photo developer reported Kraft's morbid images to the police. (Kraft himself had no darkroom expertise or darkroom equipment.)

Jeff Graves

During the trial, the prosecution believed the inconsistencies could be explained away because Kraft had not acted alone in his initial murder spree. His roommate, Jeff Graves, occasionally helped him, according to members of the prosecution team. Graves died of AIDS before police could question him, so the question of Kraft's accomplice was never raised in court.

Bob Jackson

In 1991, writer Dennis McDougal authored a book, Angel of Darkness, about the Kraft case. McDougal also published an article about the case in Beach magazine in January 2000.[78] McDougal recounted his interviews with Bob Jackson, who reportedly confessed to murdering two hitchhikers with Kraft, one in Wyoming in 1975 and Colorado in 1976. (Authorities in Colorado and Wyoming are unable to confirm these confessions.) Jackson also told McDougal that the list included only Kraft's "more memorable" murders, saying the total body count stood closer to 100. McDougal reported these allegations to the police and provided tape recordings of the interviews. Detectives quizzed Jackson and finally persuaded him to enter a mental hospital, but no murder charges were filed.

Kraft sued author McDougal and the publisher of Angel of Darkness (ISBN 0-446-51538-8), the book about Kraft's murders and trial, because, Kraft said, it smeared his "good name" and unjustly portrayed him as a "sick, twisted man," which hurt his "prospects for future employment." Kraft sought $62 million in damages. The lawsuit was dismissed as frivolous in June 1994.

Other "Freeway Killers"

Occasionally, Kraft (sometimes called the Southern California Strangler) is confused with William Bonin. Both have been called "The Freeway Killer," and both murdered young men and often left their victims roadside. Bonin would stop his vehicle to dump the bodies of his victims, while Kraft shoved his victims out of a fast-moving vehicle, often to gruesome effect. The similarity of the crimes often confused investigators, who were initially surprised that the murders continued after Bonin's arrest.

A third "Freeway Killer," Patrick Kearney, also happened to select young men as victims from the freeways of Southern California during the 1970s.

Footnotes

  1. ^ [1]
  2. ^ LA Times Oct. 2, 1988.
  3. ^ TruTV.com'
  4. ^ The Union Democrat May 11, 1989.
  5. ^ Angel of Darkness ISBN 978-0-7088-5342-9 p, 174.
  6. ^ Angel of Darkness ISBN 978-0-7088-5342-9 p, 264.
  7. ^ [Murder Casebook ISBN 0-7485-3874-7 p. 4652.]
  8. ^ Angel of Darkness ISBN 978-0-7088-5342-9 p, 20-21.
  9. ^ Angel of Darkness ISBN 978-0-7088-5342-9 p, 21.
  10. ^ Angel of Darkness ISBN 978-0-7088-5342-9 p, 21.
  11. ^ Jerry Hicks (October 2, 1988). "The Kraft Case: A Special Report". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 20, 2012. {{cite news}}: |section= ignored (help)
  12. ^ a b McDougal, Dennis (1991). Angel of Darkness. Hachette Digital. p. 19-20. ISBN 0446515388. Retrieved May 27, 2012. {{cite book}}: More than one of |pages= and |page= specified (help)
  13. ^ Angel of Darkness ISBN 978-0-7088-5342-9 p, 23.
  14. ^ Angel of Darkness ISBN 978-0-7088-5342-9 p, 24.
  15. ^ [Murder Casebook ISBN 0-7485-3874-7 p. 4653.]
  16. ^ [Murder Casebook ISBN 0-7485-3874-7 p. 4653.]
  17. ^ TruTV.com.
  18. ^ Angel of Darkness ISBN 978-0-7088-5342-9 p, 31.
  19. ^ Angel of Darkness ISBN 978-0-7088-5342-9 p, 31.
  20. ^ Angel of Darkness ISBN 978-0-7088-5342-9 p, 31.
  21. ^ Angel of Darkness ISBN 978-0-7088-5342-9 p, 39.
  22. ^ TruTV.com.
  23. ^ TruTV.com.
  24. ^ TruTV.com.
  25. ^ Angel of Darkness ISBN 978-0-7088-5342-9 p, 39.
  26. ^ http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/predators/kraft/2.html
  27. ^ Angel of Darkness ISBN 978-0-7088-5342-9 p, 42.
  28. ^ [Murder Casebook ISBN 0-7485-3874-7 p. 4678.]
  29. ^ Angel of Darkness ISBN 978-0-7088-5342-9 p, 54.
  30. ^ Angel of Darkness ISBN 978-0-7088-5342-9 p, 55-56.
  31. ^ LA Times Oct. 2, 1988.
  32. ^ Doenetwork.org
  33. ^ TruTv.
  34. ^ LA Times.
  35. ^ Angel of Darkness ISBN 978-0-7088-5342-9 p, 311.
  36. ^ Angel of Darkness ISBN 978-0-7088-5342-9 p, 186.
  37. ^ TruTV.com.
  38. ^ Angel of Darkness ISBN 978-0-7088-5342-9 p, 47.
  39. ^ Angel of Darkness ISBN 978-0-7088-5342-9 pp, 61-62.
  40. ^ LA times.com Mar. 4, 1995.
  41. ^ TruTV p. 4
  42. ^ [Murder Casebook ISBN 0-7485-3874-7 p. 4652.]
  43. ^ LA Times Mar. 7, 1988.
  44. ^ Angel of Darkness ISBN 978-0-7088-5342-9 p, 88.
  45. ^ Angel of Darkness ISBN 978-0-7088-5342-9 p, 90.
  46. ^ Angel of Darkness ISBN 978-0-7088-5342-9 p, 88.
  47. ^ Angel of Darkness ISBN 978-0-7088-5342-9 p, 94.
  48. ^ Angel of Darkness ISBN 978-0-7088-5342-9 p, 96.
  49. ^ Press Courier Nov. 12, 1988.
  50. ^ Press Courier Nov. 12, 1988.
  51. ^ Angel of Darkness ISBN 978-0-7088-5342-9 pp, 102-105.
  52. ^ TruTV.com.
  53. ^ Angel of Darkness ISBN 978-0-7088-5342-9 p, 108.
  54. ^ TruTV.com. p. 5.
  55. ^ Angel of Darkness ISBN 978-0-7088-5342-9 p, 311.
  56. ^ TruTV.com.
  57. ^ [Murder Casebook ISBN 0-7485-3874-7 p. 4668.]
  58. ^ LA Times Oct. 9, 1988.
  59. ^ Angel of Darkness ISBN 978-0-7088-5342-9 p, 136.
  60. ^ LA Times November 1, 1988.
  61. ^ LA Times March 8, 1987.
  62. ^ LA Times.com.
  63. ^ Angel of Darkness ISBN 978-0-7088-5342-9 p, 263.
  64. ^ LA Times Sept. 27, 1988.
  65. ^ Angel of Darkness ISBN 978-0-7088-5342-9 p, 167.
  66. ^ TruTV.com. p.7
  67. ^ Doenetwork.org
  68. ^ [Murder Casebook ISBN 0-7485-3874-7 p. 4659.]
  69. ^ Murder Casebook, issue 130. ISBN 0-7485-3874-7, p. 4655
  70. ^ LA Times.com.
  71. ^ LA Times March 4, 1995.
  72. ^ LA Times.com. p. 3.
  73. ^ Angel of Darkness ISBN 9-780708-853429 p.179-180.]
  74. ^ TruTV.com.
  75. ^ Lodi News-Sentinnel Sept. 9, 1983.
  76. ^ Murder Casebook, issue 130. ISBN 0-7485-3874-7, p. 4679
  77. ^ Is serial killer to blame for Marine's 1974 death in Long Beach? Los Angeles Times March 20, 2012
  78. ^ a b "Life After Death Penaly". Beach Magazine. 2000-04-05. Archived from the original on 2001-04-30. Retrieved 2011-02-18.

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