Investigators have linked yet another murder to a notorious California serial killer nearly 45 years after a man’s body was found along an Oregon highway.
The body of 30-year-old Larry Eugene Parks was identified by Oregon State Police earlier this year, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.
Randy Kraft, the infamous “Scorecard Killer,” is the lone suspect authorities are investigating for the 1980 murder, according to Oregon State Police spokesperson Kyle Kennedy.
The remains of 17-year-old Michael Ray Schlicht were identified by investigators in 2023 and tied to the “Scorecard Killer.” (Orange County Sheriff’s Department)
The man was ultimately identified as 17-year-old Michael Ray Schlicht of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, utilizing a DNA sample from his mother.
Despite maintaining his innocence, Kraft was convicted in 1989 of torturing and killing 16 men throughout California in a case that horrified the nation. During the trial, prosecutors revealed Kraft, a former computer programmer, was a fetishist and would often keep trophies of his dismembered victims in his freezer. according to The Associated Press.
Randy Kraft leaves the Orange County Courthouse after pleading not guilty to six counts of murder in 1983. (Mark Boster/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Kraft, now 80, was sentenced to death and remains incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison.
“It’s wonderful that we’re looking at cases that, in the past, we would have said that that case was unsolved and it would never be solved, because the killer here is now 80 years old and in many situations that killer might have died already,” Valentin said.
“So when your killer is dead and your victim clearly is no longer living, and there’s nobody to prosecute and then there’s nothing to investigate. The idea that this case really was reinvigorated because somebody offered to do genetic genealogy and see if they could identify who the victim was, and that’s what started this over – that’s what brought new life into this investigation.”
