CA CA - Wilmington, WhtMale 1155UMCA, 17-25, off Terminal Island Freeway, Feb'73

Springrain · Jan 27, 2016

Forgive me if there is already a thread for this John Doe. I could not find one and this is such a tragic case.
I found a bit about him on "The unidentified and possible missing victims of Randy Kraft" but I thought it would be good if he had his own thread. If there is already one, please delete!

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1155umca.html

Date of Discovery: February 6, 1973 Location of Discovery: Wilmington, Los Angeles County, California
Estimated Date of Death: 1-2 days prior
State of Remains: Recognizable face
Cause of Death: Homicide by strangulation

Physical Description

** Listed information is approximate
Estimated Age: 17-25 years old
Race: White
Gender: Male
Height: 5'7" to 5'8"
Weight: 138-143 lbs.
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Brown

Distinguishing Marks/Features: Numerous thin, old scars on his lower right leg. He has Type "A" blood.

Dentals: Available.
Fingerprints: Available.
DNA: Not available.
Clothing & Personal Items

Clothing: None.

Jewelry: None.

Additional Personal Items: Unknown

Case History

The victim was found nude in a ditch beside the Terminal Island Freeway at the Pacific Coast Highway. He is believed to be a victim of serial-killer Randy Kraft.

Here's the NamUs link, no rule-outs listed:

https://identifyus.org/cases/4465

Springrain · Jan 27, 2016

Carl's reconstruction of Wilmington John Doe:

cvaldez1975 · Jan 27, 2016

I think he has a thread buried here.

CarlK90245 · Jan 27, 2016

cvaldez1975 said:
I think he has a thread buried here.

No, there wasn't. He was discussed on the Randy Kraft UID victims thread, but he didn't have his own thread until now. Thanks Springrain

cvaldez1975 · Jan 27, 2016

Oh great! Sometimes I forget if I saw a post here or saw it on doe.

CarlK90245 said:
No, there wasn't. He was discussed on the Randy Kraft UID victims thread, but he didn't have his own thread until now. Thanks Springrain

carbuff · Jan 27, 2016

I'd say he looks like Norman Prater (http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1478dmtx.html) but Prater's eyes are blue and his ears stick out.

Poor guy, whoever he is.

Springrain · Jan 27, 2016

He has fingerprints and dentals available--no DNA.

I heard that all of Los Angeles County's UIDs are cremated, although I can't source that, but if that's the case, then it seems there's no way to salvage his DNA unfortunately

we just really have to hope that a missing person matches with dentals or fingerprints...but DNA is the most common identifier...

Springrain · Jan 27, 2016

carbuff said:
I'd say he looks like Norman Prater (http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1478dmtx.html) but Prater's eyes are blue and his ears stick out.

Poor guy, whoever he is.

Norman Prater appears to not have a NamUs profile...hopefully there is one created for him soon!

webrocket · Jan 28, 2016

It's not impossible to get DNA even if the body was cremated. Obviously they can't get a sample from the body but in a homicide investigation, they typically save physical evidence which could include clothing that might have blood or hair samples.

Obviously that doesn't help this UID who was found naked. However, they did type his blood so at one time they had a sample.

Springrain said:
He has fingerprints and dentals available--no DNA.

I heard that all of Los Angeles County's UIDs are cremated, although I can't source that, but if that's the case, then it seems there's no way to salvage his DNA unfortunately we just really have to hope that a missing person matches with dentals or fingerprints...but DNA is the most common identifier...

catherine. · Jan 28, 2016

carbuff said:
I'd say he looks like Norman Prater (http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1478dmtx.html) but Prater's eyes are blue and his ears stick out.

Poor guy, whoever he is.

I was coming to post the exact same thing only I found him on Charley Project. It says he has brown or blue eyes on there. Quite a difference between brown and blue.

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

zelda_s · Jan 28, 2016

Has Kraft himself commented on this murder? Sometimes the things killers say can be useful in identifying victims, or at least getting more info.

Springrain · Jan 28, 2016

zelda_s said:
Has Kraft himself commented on this murder? Sometimes the things killers say can be useful in identifying victims, or at least getting more info.

He logged a victim in his scorecard as "Wilmington" and this guy was killed the same way as his other victims. But he never commented on this guy.

CarlK90245 · Jan 28, 2016

zelda_s said:
Has Kraft himself commented on this murder? Sometimes the things killers say can be useful in identifying victims, or at least getting more info.

To this day, Kraft maintains his innocence, despite that he was pulled over with a dead man in his passenger seat, and despite the overwhelming additional evidence of his guilt.

bbbd4u · Jan 28, 2016

This is a composite from his NamUs link

wintermute · Jan 28, 2016

zelda_s said:
Has Kraft himself commented on this murder? Sometimes the things killers say can be useful in identifying victims, or at least getting more info.

AFAIK, Kraft still denies that he committed any of the murders that he was convicted or suspected of.

zelda_s · Jan 29, 2016

Wow, Kraft was one messed up guy. I'm surprised he hasn't been sentenced to death (I don't agree with the death penalty but for what he did I'm surprised he didn't get that sentence)

PS I've seen the PM photo and I must say Carl did an outstanding job on this recon. When I get a little time I'll check doenet for MPs that look similar

wintermute · Jan 29, 2016

zelda_s said:
Wow, Kraft was one messed up guy. I'm surprised he hasn't been sentenced to death (I don't agree with the death penalty but for what he did I'm surprised he didn't get that sentence)

PS I've seen the PM photo and I must say Carl did an outstanding job on this recon. When I get a little time I'll check doenet for MPs that look similar

Kraft was sentenced to death. Unfortunately, the legal process is very slow in California. It is possible that he will die of natural causes before he's executed.

Springrain · Jan 29, 2016

wintermute said:
Kraft was sentenced to death. Unfortunately, the legal process is very slow in California. It is possible that he will die of natural causes before he's executed.

Like with Lawrence Bittaker, IIRC.

Ambercat · Feb 21, 2016

Springrain said:
Norman Prater appears to not have a NamUs profile...hopefully there is one created for him soon!

Norman Prater's NamUs profile is -- https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/6542/7

Thanks for creating a separate thread for Wilmington John Doe! :tyou:

Ambercat · Feb 21, 2016

carbuff said:
I'd say he looks like Norman Prater (http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1478dmtx.html) but Prater's eyes are blue and his ears stick out.

Poor guy, whoever he is.

Back in 2012, I e-mailed Daniel Machain from the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office about Norman Prater. From Investigator Machain's reply, it sounds like he was looked at and ruled out --

Kathryn,

I was contacted by Norman Praters mother in 2008 regarding this case. She was shown a facial photo of the decedent (1973-02574) and stated that the decedent was NOT her son, missing person Norman Prater.

Please let me know if you have any further questions.

Respectfully,

Inv. Daniel Machian

I haven't heard back about Richard Riquier since I asked about him in 2014 (I thought there might be a mix up in the date that Richard was last seen) -- https://www.services.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/missing-disparus/case-dossier.jsf?case=2013000069&id=11. I guess they're probably not the same guy.

CA CA - Wilmington, WhtMale 1155UMCA, 17-25, off Terminal Island Freeway, Feb'73

Who was she? Pregnant & stabbed to death

Who was she? Pregnant & stabbed to death

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