Latest news with #LarryEugeneParks
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Yahoo
California serial killer may be linked to 45-year-old Oregon cold case
The Brief Oregon State Police have identified a murder victim after nearly 45 years. Police identified the victim as Larry Eugene Parks, a Vietnam veteran who went missing in 1979. Now, police believe the murder is linked to Randy Kraft, known as the "Scorecard Killer," who was arrested in Orange County in the 1980s. LOS ANGELES - Oregon State Police have identified a man who was found dead on the side of a highway more than four decades ago, and investigators say his death is likely connected to a serial killer who was arrested in California in the 1980s. What we know On July 18, 1980, Oregon State Police found a man's body on the side of Interstate 5 in Woodburn, about 30 miles south of Portland. Despite an investigation at the time, officers weren't able to figure out who the man was, until now. SUGGESTED: Ex-husband, new wife named as persons of interest in 1983 OC cold case murder Last month, thanks to help from the Orange County Sheriff's Department, Oregon investigators were able to identify the man as Larry Eugene Parks. Parks was a 30-year-old Vietnam War veteran who had lost contact with his family in 1979, and was last seen in Florida. What they're saying Now, officials are saying that convicted serial killer Randy Kraft, also known as the "Scorecard Killer," is the only person of interest in the investigation. "There's some evidence that we're processing to determine that link," Oregon State Police spokesperson Kyle Kennedy told the Associated Press. "We are very confident that we have the correct person of interest." The backstory Kraft was arrested in May 1983 after a California Highway Patrol officer pulled him over in Orange County. When the officer approached Kraft's car, he found Kraft, along with a dead man's body in the passenger's seat. When officers searched the trunk, they found a coded list, which they believe detailed 67 victims from California, Oregon and Michigan, police say. SUGGESTED: California serial killer William Suff linked to 1986 cold case murder in South Pasadena In May 1989, Kraft was convicted of 16 murders and sentenced to death. Kraft, now 80, is in the California Institution for Men in Chino, according to California state inmate records. During Kraft's trial, prosecutors used evidence from Parks' 1980 killing. That evidence stayed in Orange County until January 2024, when the OCSD reached out to Oregon police, offering to try and identify the man using a blood sample. From there, investigators were able to use DNA to find some of the man's potential relatives. They used that DNA to positively identify Parks after nearly 45 years. The Source Information in this story is from a May 9, 2025, press release from Oregon State Police, a statement from Oregon State Police spokesperson Kyle Kennedy given to the Associated Press, past press releases on Randy Eugene Kraft from the Orange County Sheriff's Department, and inmate records from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Yahoo
Serial killer Randy Kraft identified as suspect in 45-year-old Oregon cold case murder
Notorious California serial killer Randy Kraft has been identified as the suspect in the murder of a man almost 45 years ago, police said Friday. Larry Eugene Parks, 30, was found dead along Interstate 5 on the morning of July 18, 1980, in Oregon, according to the Oregon State Police. An investigation into his death was opened, but Parks remained a John Doe until just last month, after an investigator from the sheriff's department in Orange County, California, offered to help identify him using forensic genealogy in 2024. Kraft, who remains incarcerated at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center, was convicted of brutalizing and killing 16 men during a decadelong series of slayings in Orange County, California, that ended with his arrest. The convicted murderer is also suspected of committing over 60 murders across the West Coast and Michigan, police said. To identify Parks as another potential victim, a genetic profile was created using a sample of his blood, which helped investigators find and contact possible family members. They submitted DNA, leading to his identification. Parks was a Vietnam veteran and had lost contact with his family a year before his death. 'Until his identification last month, the circumstances of his disappearance were unknown to the Parks family,' police said. Police believe Kraft, who was arrested in Orange County, California, in 1983, is responsible for Parks' death. Evidence from the murder, along with the murder of another man who was also found on I-5 the day before Parks, was transferred to the Orange County District Attorney's Office to be used in court, but remained in the county until 2024, when the investigator set out to identify the 30-year-old, according to police. 'With Parks' identity confirmed, investigators are now working to bring resolution to the 45-year-old case,' police said. In 2023, an Iowa teen believed to have been one of Kraft's earliest victims was also identified using genealogy. This article was originally published on
