CA - Unidentified & possible missing victims of Randy Kraft, 1971-1983

[Milyandel]

I just realized I have left out one case based on some sort of narrow logic of my own…sorry! Very irritating, since I really like to keep my ducks in a row and that’s why I’ve made a point of listing these cases in a chronological order.

The case is 865UMCA, found on November 5th, 1972 in Hacienda Hights in a ravine. Based on a witness statement looks like he was shot right there on the street and pushed to the ravine. I initially felt that Kraft would probably have rendered his victim helpless first, so that he could not make much noise or fight back (and there was no mention of alcohol or drugs in the victim’s system). But on a second thought, the situation fits pretty well with Kraft having lured the victim (perhaps a hitchhiker - the jeans with "peace" and "love" makes me think of a hippie type free spirit) in his car, found that location to be a good place to leave a body in and proceeded to kill the man right there on the spot.

 

[Milyandel]

Next on the list is a bunch of cases, mostly with no details, which may or may not have something to do with Kraft. But still, they’re someone’s sons, brothers, fiancés/husbands or maybe even young fathers gone missing, and it would be a good thing to give them their identities back. It really is a bit disheartening to see how many they are.

HC1873, found on July 1st, 1980 in Los Angeles.

HC1869, found on September 28th, 1980 also in Los Angeles.

HC2245, found on December 8th, 1980 in Angeles National Forest, Arcadia, Los Angeles County.

994UMCA, found on December 13th, 1980 in Newhall, Los Angeles County. He had been shot, once in the head and four times in the chest, which might be labeled as overkill - and I’m not sure if it is in any way consistent to Kraft’s MO.

HC1870, found on December 28th, 1980 in Los Angeles.

 

[Milyandel]

To continue:

1250UMCA, found on January 8th, 1981 in San Bernardino. He had been shot and set on fire only some hours before discovery. He is on the old side when thinking about Kraft’s possible preferences ,and setting the victim on fire would be (again) a new and perhaps-not-very-likely change of MO.

HC1885, found on January 10th, 1981 in Torrance, Los Angeles County.

HC1437, found on February 23rd, 1981 in Los Angeles County. He is estimated to be quite young, only 14-18 years of age, which makes me feel someone must have (or at least should have!) reported him missing. Unfortunately, because of his young age, he may have been an easy prey for Kraft or someone like him. It’s too bad that the information about his remains are so scarce, there’s not even an exact location where he was found.

1001UMCA, found on April 18th, 1981 in Santa Clarita, Los Angeles County.

 

[Ambercat]

To continue:

1250UMCA, found on January 8th, 1981 in San Bernardino. He had been shot and set on fire only some hours before discovery. He is on the old side when thinking about Kraft’s possible preferences ,and setting the victim on fire would be (again) a new and perhaps-not-very-likely change of MO.

HC1885, found on January 10th, 1981 in Torrance, Los Angeles County.

HC1437, found on February 23rd, 1981 in Los Angeles County. He is estimated to be quite young, only 14-18 years of age, which makes me feel someone must have (or at least should have!) reported him missing. Unfortunately, because of his young age, he may have been an easy prey for Kraft or someone like him. It’s too bad that the information about his remains are so scarce, there’s not even an exact location where he was found.

1001UMCA, found on April 18th, 1981 in Santa Clarita, Los Angeles County.

It’s frustrating that there isn’t more information about these unidentified men that you have listed, because I really believe the more information available, the more likely they are to be identified.

Wayne Joseph Dukette who was 30 when he was killed by Randy Kraft and he is believed to be the oldest victim, so I would have a tendency to rule out the unidentified males who are older than him. I think that the unidentified man known as “Portland Eck” was also in his 30’s, so I guess if the MO was very similar it is worth considering. I’d also probably rule out the victim who was shot multiple times (HC2245), the MO sounds really different.

I know that his cause of death was ruled “undetermined,” but I really think that 1392UMCA (discovered on June 3, 1978) may have been a victim of Randy Kraft. He was found on Division between Corona and Covina – this is only a few blocks from Ripples (a gay bar that Randy Kraft frequented located on Ocean Blvd at Granada). The unidentified young man had “Paid” stamped on his hand – I wonder if he got the stamp on his hand from paying the cover charge to get into the bar? Could he be the “Front of Ripples” notation on the list; that particular notation is between that believed to be associated with Paul Fuchs who disappeared on December 12, 1976 and Richard Allen Keith who was found deceased on June 19, 1978?

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1392umca.html
https://identifyus.org/cases/4428

 

[Milyandel]

I know that his cause of death was ruled “undetermined,” but I really think that 1392UMCA (discovered on June 3, 1978) may have been a victim of Randy Kraft.

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1392umca.html
https://identifyus.org/cases/4428

Yes, definitely a possibility! I didn't have him on my list even though i remember seeing his case in some other thread long time ago... Can't think why I missed him in Doenetwork, but I had problems with some links there, so maybe that is why. Thanks for bringing him to the thread . (He's on my list now, too.)

 

[Milyandel]

Here’s still three more, again with not much information or clues about Kraft's possible involvement, but maybe with some potential for identification at least.

HC1379, found on July 6th, 1981 in Los Angeles.

1378UMCA, found on October 31st, 1982 in Castaic, Los Angeles County.

HC1438, found on April 9th in 1983 in Los Angeles County.

I stopped at 1983 in my listing of possible victims (with the exception of NamUs UP #4240 mentioned earlier in this thread, even if I’m aware of the possibility that some remains discovered after he was arrested could still be of his doing.

I also made a choice to not include in these posts some possible cases that seemed (to me) to be quite far away from Kraft’s area. But they’re still on my list, since it’s known that Kraft travelled and committed murders in other places too. So, I tweaked my excel table a little, removing those that didn't, after all, seem to have anything to do with Kraft (and I admit there's still some that are pretty far-fetched), and turned the whole thing into a word document. Feel free to take a look (if I managed to attach it correctly...)! The red text means the case has been mentioned in this thread, the black ones are the ones I intentionally left out from my posts.

 

[Ambercat]

Here’s still three more, again with not much information or clues about Kraft's possible involvement, but maybe with some potential for identification at least.

HC1379, found on July 6th, 1981 in Los Angeles.

1378UMCA, found on October 31st, 1982 in Castaic, Los Angeles County.

HC1438, found on April 9th in 1983 in Los Angeles County.

I stopped at 1983 in my listing of possible victims (with the exception of NamUs UP #4240 mentioned earlier in this thread, even if I’m aware of the possibility that some remains discovered after he was arrested could still be of his doing.

I also made a choice to not include in these posts some possible cases that seemed (to me) to be quite far away from Kraft’s area. But they’re still on my list, since it’s known that Kraft travelled and committed murders in other places too. So, I tweaked my excel table a little, removing those that didn't, after all, seem to have anything to do with Kraft (and I admit there's still some that are pretty far-fetched), and turned the whole thing into a word document. Feel free to take a look (if I managed to attach it correctly...)! The red text means the case has been mentioned in this thread, the black ones are the ones I intentionally left out from my posts.

Wow! That is really some list! I am hesitant about the decedents who were found north of say the Los Angeles County line unless we knew if Randy Kraft was traveling in the area. I know that he went on vacation to Lake Tahoe at one point, the East Coast, and even to Germany -- I would like to have a better timeline of his travels. I am not sure if he murdered people when he was on holiday or only when he traveled for work (that sounds really strange).

Earlier Thursday, I was in the area of 7890 E. Spring St, Long Beach, CA where Randy Kraft most likely dumped a still unidentified victim on 11/10/1974 (NamUS case 8841). I noticed that the complex is called 'El Dorado Lakes.' While I think that he could possibly be the 'Van Driveway' (I actually did see at least one van parked there, although I'm sure that this is not the van that was there in 1974)) and 'Marine Down,' I was wondering if this young man could also be 'Lakes MC' instead of Gregory Wallace Jolley. The Lakes MC listing is between 'Seventh Street' (thought to be Ron Wiebe who was found deceased on July 28, 1973) and 'MC Laguna' (thought to be Roger E. Dickerson who was found deceased on June 22, 1974). Gregory Jolley was found in September of 1979.

 

[Ambercat]

Here's a newly added UID case in NamUs. I don't see it in DoeNet.

https://identifyus.org/cases/8841

Nov'74 - Late teens or 20-something white male left naked in a Long Beach apartment building carport. Heart Tattoo on Right Forearm, Skull w/"USMC" Tattoo on Left Forearm. Also has "Bud" and a cross tattooed on left arm.

Looks to me like a Randy Kraft victim.

ETA: Could be "Van Driveway", or "Marine Down".

Has he been identified because I am not able to access his page on Nam Us?

 

[Ambercat]

Has he been identified because I am not able to access his page on Nam Us?

Sorry to quote myself, but I wanted to post an update about the young male found deceased on Spring St near the 605 Freeway in November 1974 -- I asked NamUs, they e-mailed me saying that he had been identified.

Hi Kathryn,

This case has been marked as identified. Once a case is identified it is removed from public view.

Thank you,
NamUs Team

I wonder what his story was -- that is so sad that he was murdered then unidentified for almost 40 years.

 

[Ambercat]

I found an article from Eugene Register-Guard dated May 19, 1983http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=tA1WAAAAIBAJ&sjid=MOIDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6915,4465913&dq=freeway+murder+hitchhiker+long-beach&hl=en stating that Randy Kraft was suspected of committing a murder in Florida. I hadn't been aware of this until now.

 

[Milyandel]

Sorry to quote myself, but I wanted to post an update about the young male found deceased on Spring St near the 605 Freeway in November 1974 -- I asked NamUs, they e-mailed me saying that he had been identified.
[---]
I wonder what his story was -- that is so sad that he was murdered then unidentified for almost 40 years.

Thanks, Ambercat, for taking the time to find out what had happened in the case! I'm truly glad he's been identified, but oh how I'd like to know the rest of his story, especially if there was/is any indication that he might have been one of Kraft's victims!

 

[Ambercat]

Thanks, Ambercat, for taking the time to find out what had happened in the case! I'm truly glad he's been identified, but oh how I'd like to know the rest of his story, especially if there was/is any indication that he might have been one of Kraft's victims!

I think the reason that he is believed to be a victim of Randy Kraft was because he was found nude, dumped very close the the 605 Freeway, and there were indications (from his tattoos) that he was a US Marine. I wrote to the Long Beach Press Telegram, LA Times, and Orange County Register asking if they could write an article about the young man, yet so far they have not acknowledged the e-mail or made mention that he had been identified on their websites. Maybe his family does not want it to be in the news?

As soon as I saw the sign for the complex at 7890 E. Spring St, Long Beach, CA 90815, I remembered the MC Lakes notation on Randy Kraft's list and really believe that it is referring to him and not Gregory Jolley. I guess he could be "Marine Down" or "Van Driveway"


The El Dorado Lakes complex was built in 1974. I wonder what the occupancy was on Sunday November 10, 1974? I guess no one saw anything, because LE would have looked into it at the time? It looks like the condos don't really have a very good view of the parking areas.


I'm not sure if the gate in the first photo was there in 1974. Sorry that my photos are sort of dark -- I was in the area for something else and I thought that I would stop by the address and check it out. I guess it was sort of late by then.

 

[Ambercat]

I have taken photographs of two of Randy Kraft's former residences in Long Beach. The first is 1727 1/2 Ocean Blvd. This is where he was living in 1975 when the police questioned him about Keith Daven Crotwell in 1975 http://articles.latimes.com/1987-03-10/local/me-5705_1_murder

I think 1727 1/2 is on the second floor to the viewer's left. There are so many apartments close together in this area, it's surprising no one noticed anything.

The second residence is 824 Roswell. This is where he was living with Jeff Seeling when he was arrested.

 

[Ambercat]

I was wondering if Jay Calvin Pringle who went missing on April 19, 1977 at age 17 could be a victim of Randy Kraft. His page on Doe Network really stood out to me when it said

Pringle left Medford, Oregon with a friend on a trip to California. He was last seen on April 19, 1977 in Gardena, California, allegedly when Pringle and friend argued and split up. Pringle made friends with an unknown person and allegedly left with him.

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1250dmor.html

The circumstances of his disappearance are described differently on his NamUs page, though.

Subj. left with an aquaintance on a trip to CA. Last seen in Las Vegas allegedly when subj. and friend argued and split up.

https://www.findthemissing.org/cases/1740/102/

 

[Kimster]

The Charley Project has a bit of a different view of the circumstances for Calvin:

Pringle's mother reported him missing. A friend of his traveled from Nevada to Medford after apparently spending all of Pringle's money. He subsequently left Oregon during the investigation into Pringle's disappearance. Investigators believe the individual was involved in Pringle's disappearance, but he has not been charged for lack of evidence.

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/p/pringle_jay.html

 

[Ambercat]

The Charley Project has a bit of a different view of the circumstances for Calvin:


http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/p/pringle_jay.html

That is really different than the other two sites. I wonder which one (if any of the three) is the correct version of events?

 

[Claudette]

I'm curious as to why the crime library points out that he and another killer were hypoglycemic. I'm hypoglycemic - just curious about this.

 

[KivaSupporter]

http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/predators/kraft/1.html

http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/predators/kraft/8.html

Scorecard including abbreviations and much more at the above links, such as:

8. 2 IN 1 MV TO PL--Name unconnected to any unsolved murder(s).
Double murder Mission Viejo to Portland

12. LB MARINA--Name unconnected to any unsolved murder.
Long Beach Marina
Keith Daven Crotwell, a 19-year-old high school dropout, left Long Beach on March 29, 1975, thumbing southbound rides, and vanished. On May 8, three boys hunting starfish found his severed head near the Long Beach Marina.

16. PORTLAND--Name unconnected to any unsolved murder.
Kraft was consulting for Lear Sigler Industries (LSI), with regional offices in Michigan, Oregon and San Diego. Kraft’s travellled for LSI—to Oregon, the San Francisco Bay area, and Michigan.

2 in 1 = double murder, Hitch = hitchikers
Allegedly referred to the murders of Geoffrey Nelson and Rodger DeVaul.

41. CARPENTER--Name unconnected to any unsolved murder.

43. MC DUMP HB SHORT--Name unconnected to any unsolved murder.
HB = Huntington Beach

59. OIL--Name unconnected to any unsolved murder.
Oil field workers in Long Beach found the next victim, on Aug. 3, 1974. Manually strangled and left fully clothed, he was identified as 25-year-old Thomas Paxton Lee


HTH

 

[Ambercat]

I was unable to find a listing for Jeffrey Bryan Sayre of Santa Ana on the Charley Project, Doe Network, or NamUS but I couldn't find anything about him being found either. He is believed to be the Westminster Date notation on Randy Kraft's list. He was 15 when he went missing on November 24, 1979.

This article was published after Patrick Kearney was arrested but before William Bonin and Randy Kraft were; it makes mention of an unidentified male teenager who was found nude and strangled near a freeway in downtown LA. He was found on March 25, 1980. I looked through the lists of all of the young men believed to be victims of Randy Kraft and William Bonin and am not sure who this person was or if they have ever been identified. LE stated that he was a runaway, so maybe he was identified, just not publicly? http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=KyALAAAAIBAJ&sjid=vFIDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5367,535795&dq/

 

[Ambercat]

http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/predators/kraft/1.html

http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/predators/kraft/8.html

Scorecard including abbreviations and much more at the above links, such as:

8. 2 IN 1 MV TO PL--Name unconnected to any unsolved murder(s).
Double murder Mission Viejo to Portland

12. LB MARINA--Name unconnected to any unsolved murder.
Long Beach Marina
Keith Daven Crotwell, a 19-year-old high school dropout, left Long Beach on March 29, 1975, thumbing southbound rides, and vanished. On May 8, three boys hunting starfish found his severed head near the Long Beach Marina.

41. CARPENTER--Name unconnected to any unsolved murder.

HTH

That is a very interesting take on the 2 IN 1 MV TO PL -- possibly he murdered two people from/he picked up in Mission Viejo right before going to Portland? Before this, I never considered Portland as a possibility for the mysterious PL.

LB Marina -- the area that is now Marina Pacifica used to be known as the "Long Beach Marina," I have seen it on older maps and even the paperwork at the condominium complex said "Marina Pacifica at the Long Beach Marina." I had always wondered if a deceased person (maybe not associated with Randy Kraft) was ever found there. Craig Victor Jonaites and John Doe "76" were found very close to Marina Pacifica. It was my understanding that Keith Crotwell's head was found by the jetty/breakwater near 72nd Place on the Peninsula section of Long Beach. Sadly, this was just a short drive down Ocean Blvd from where he was last seen (at the Yankee Doodles (Big John at the time) Belmont Pool parking lot.

Carpenter -- this is a notation I have thought a lot about -- was the individual's last name Carpenter? Did he work as a carpenter? Did he enjoy the music of the Carpenters? Maybe he was from the city of Downey where the Carpenters lived? I don't know.