Incarcerated California serial 'Scorecard Killer' Randy Kraft potentially linked to decades-old death in Oregon, police say
Share and Follow

A man who was found dead along the 5 Freeway in Oregon has been identified after nearly 45 years and police say a notorious California serial killer is the sole person of interest in the case.

The 30-year-old was identified Friday as Larry Eugene Parks. Oregon State Police spokesperson Kyle Kennedy said Randy Kraft, who has been dubbed the “Scorecard Killer,” is the only person under investigation for the 1980 killing.

“There’s some evidence that we’re processing to determine that link,” Kennedy said. “We are very confident that we have the correct person of interest.”

Scorecard Killer

Serial killer Randy Kraft listens inside a courtroom in Santa Ana, Aug. 11, 1989, as a jury recommends he should die in the gas chamber.

AP Photo/Alan Greth, File

Kraft, now 80, was convicted in 1989 of brutalizing and killing 16 men over a decade in California and sentenced to death. He remains incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison and has denied killing anyone.

On July 18, 1980, police responded to a report of a body now identified as Parks along the 5 Freeway south of Portland near Woodburn. Police opened a homicide investigation at the time and unsuccessfully tried to identify the victim.

Parks, a Vietnam veteran whose family had lost contact with him in 1979, had last been seen in Pensacola, Florida, police said.

Kraft was pulled over in his vehicle on a California freeway in 1983 after a trooper spotted him driving erratically. In the passenger seat of the vehicle was a strangled U.S. Marine. In the trunk of Kraft’s vehicle was a coded list believed to tally 67 victims in California, Oregon and Michigan, according to police.

Prosecutors described Kraft, a former computer programmer, as a fetishist who kept some of the dismembered parts of his victims in his freezer.

In 2024, an Orange County Sheriff’s Department investigator reached out to the Oregon State Police Cold Case Unit and offered to help identify the remains using forensic investigative genetic genealogy. A genetic profile was developed from a blood sample and Parks’ identity was confirmed after possible family members submitted DNA profiles for comparison, according to police.

Until his identification last month, the circumstances of his disappearance were unknown to the his family, police said.

In 2023, the remains of a teenager believed to have been killed by Kraft in California were also identified using investigative genetic genealogy.

Copyright © 2025 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

Share and Follow
You May Also Like
Rare desert wetlands wildflower subject of lawsuit against federal government

Lawsuit Against Federal Government Regarding Uncommon Wildflower in Desert Wetlands

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) A lawsuit filed on Tuesday argues the federal government…
Liberty getting whole again with Leonie Fiebich back after rough stretch

Liberty returning to full strength as Leonie Fiebich returns after a challenging period

Leonie Fiebich kept tabs on the Liberty the best she could when…
FBI takes down Anti-Tren gang members in largest bust yet in violent migrant turf war

FBI takes down Anti-Tren gang members in largest bust yet in violent migrant turf war

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! Federal officials on Monday…

Baby kidnapped years ago sparks new effort to locate him

(FOX 5/KUSI) The search for a Southern California man who was abducted…
South Carolina deputy shot and killed in ambush, sheriff says

South Carolina deputy shot and killed in ambush, sheriff says

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! A South Carolina deputy…
Spencer Schwellenbach fractures elbow as nightmare Braves season continues

Spencer Schwellenbach suffers elbow injury amidst tough season for the Braves

The Braves lost another starting pitcher to injury.  Spencer Schwellenbach felt some…
Bryan Kohberger expected to officially plead guilty: what’s next

Bryan Kohberger expected to officially plead guilty: what’s next

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! Idaho murders suspect Bryan…
Daughter of assassinated civil rights leader sees painful echoes of political violence in America

Civil rights leader’s daughter finds troubling similarities in America’s history of political violence

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — More than 60 years after a white supremacist…