Oregon Cold Case Tied to Infamous Serial Killer Identified 45 Years Later

A body discovered beside Interstate 5 in Oregon has finally been identified after more than four decades. Authorities have pointed to a notorious serial killer from California as the primary suspect in this prolonged investigation.

The man was identified as Larry Eugene Parks, aged 30 at the time. According to Kyle Kennedy, a representative from the Oregon State Police, the sole suspect in Parks' 1980 murder is Randy Kraft, known infamously as the 'Scorecard Killer.'

"We are carefully examining certain pieces of evidence to confirm the connection," Kennedy stated. "We strongly believe that we have targeted the right individual of interest."

Randy Kraft's Infamous Convictions

Convicted back in 1989 for a string of brutal crimes across California during the 1970s and 1980s, Kraft, now 80, was sentenced to death. Despite these grave charges, Kraft insists on his innocence.

In an unsettling twist, an Iowa teenager, thought to be among his first victims, was found in 2023 after being missing for 49 years.

Discovery Along Interstate 5

On July 18, 1980, authorities attended a scene along I-5, south of Portland close to Woodburn, where Parks' body was found. Despite launching a murder investigation, identifying the victim at that time proved futile.

Parks, a veteran of the Vietnam War, had severed ties with family since 1979 and was last sighted in Pensacola, Florida.

Clues Leading to Kraft

In 1983, Kraft was apprehended by police in California, primarily because of his erratic driving. This traffic stop led to a chilling discovery: a U.S. Marine, strangled, occupied the vehicle's passenger seat. In the trunk, a mysterious coded list was uncovered, possibly alluding to 67 victims spanning California, Oregon, and Michigan.

Prosecutors painted Kraft, once a computer programmer, as a man driven by obsessive compulsions, even preserving victims' body parts as macabre trophies.

Advances in Genetic Forensics

In 2024, the Orange County Sheriff's Department collaborated with Oregon officials to identify the victim through advanced forensic genetic genealogy. Through comparing a developed genetic profile with DNA donations from Parks' possible relatives, his identity was conclusively established.

Until this revelation, the circumstances of Parks' ending were unknown, keeping his family in the shadow of uncertainty for decades.

A similar breakthrough occurred in 2023, where another victim, believed to be another of Kraft’s victims, was identified using the same genetic investigatory techniques.