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

Were the detectives on the Kraft case negligent?

  • Yeah, they could have done more.

    Votes: 59 90.8%

  • No, I love cops.

    Votes: 6 9.2%
  • Total voters
    65

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He turned 21 August 25th and they found his body September 1st, just off the Pacific Coast Highway in Big Sur, he was strawberry blond, 5ft 6in tall and had a slender build, he had his sea bag with him when he left which has also never been found. There was nothing mentioned about torture on the autopsy, but as I said, there was ALOT not mentioned. No mention of sexual activity but I don't think they checked. I immediately jump to something sexual with him being found nude and I have asked about that but have been told there is no real way to know because they no longer have the file. I was told first that they lost the file then I was told that they had it, but it just didn't have very much to it. I feel like this is not something someone does only one time and never again so if it wasn't Kraft then I think I need to be looking towards someone probably already in Jail/Prison who has done something similar before.
 
I'm gay man 7 years younger than Kraft. Maybe a bit of background you would be interested in. Kraft used to cruise the Ripples parking lot in Long Beach frequently in the mid to late 1970s and into the 1980s. He would always look and stare when we crossed paths, signaling an interest. He was not my type, and appeared of another generation even though he was not that much older. So I ignored him and purposely avoided him. I can clearly remember the metallic brown Celica with the licence number ending in WFM. It made me think of a radio station call sign, and when I saw it, was a way to make certain I avoided him. I cannot remember if he ever followed me out of the lot. That didn't happen often. But I do remember him being someone I purposely avoided. Usually someone you don't show an interest in will eventually give up. But Kraft kept trying, although I did not feel threatened or that he was super aggressive. But he did give off a trollish vibe.

I also saw him occasionally in Garden Grove. I used to go to Rumour Hazzit which had a younger clientele. DOK West as mentioned above also had a younger clientele, who Kraft was interested in. I saw him in Rumor Hazzit or it's parking lot occasionally.

As I purposely avoided him, I did not notice any suspicious activity.

I do not think he was very successful meeting gay men in the age group he liked (I didn't want what I thought he wanted). Almost always when I saw him he was alone. This may account for some of the other ways he met men..such as hitchhikers, and other straight men.

Regarding the pronunciation of Paul Fuchs name. I went to Wilson High with an older brother. At the time his name was pronounced with a long "U." "Fukes." Or at least in the class or two I remember him.
 
Or maybe William Bonin... he was around in that time also

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Bonin

Two years after his arrival at the Atascadero State Hospital, Bonin was sent to prison, declared unsuitable for further treatment—largely due to his repeatedly engaging in forceful sexual activity with male inmates.[28] On June 11, 1974, he was released from prison after doctors concluded he was "no longer a danger to the health and safety of others."[27]
Further offenses and imprisonment[edit]
On September 8, 1975, Bonin encountered a 14-year-old named David McVicker[29] hitchhiking in Garden Grove; McVicker accepted Bonin's offer to drive him to his parents' home in Huntington Beach; shortly after McVicker had entered Bonin's vehicle, he was taken aback by Bonin asking him if he was gay. When McVicker asked Bonin to stop his car, Bonin produced a gun and drove the youth to a deserted field, where he ordered McVicker to undress, then beat and raped him.[30] After beating and assaulting McVicker, Bonin began to strangle the youth with his own T-shirt, then immediately became apologetic when McVicker began screaming. He then drove McVicker home before casually stating, "We'll meet again."[31]



https://mylifeofcrime.wordpress.com...ller-william-george-bonin-the-freeway-killer/
also per this site one of his victims has not been Identified. but I think the date is wrong.. but he could of claimed Larry Dean Williams earlier.. he was out then also.

Victims
David McVicker, 14 (survived) (no picture)
Thomas Glen Lundgren, 13 [5/28/1979]
Mark Shelton, 17 [8/4/1979] (no picture)
Marcus Grabs, 17 [8/5/1979]
Donald Ray Hyden, 15 [8/27/1979]
David Murillo, 17 [9/9/1979]
Robert Wirostek, 18 [9/17/1979] (no picture)
Unidentified young male, around 19 [11//29/1979] (no picture)
Frank Dennis Fox, 17 [11//30/1979] (no picture)
John Frederick Kilpatrick, 15 [12/10/1979] (no picture)
Michael Francis McDonald, 16 [1/1/1980] (no picture)
Charles Miranda, 15 [2/3/1980]
James Michael McCabe, 12 [2/3/1980]
Ronald Gatlin, 18 [3/14/1980]
Glenn Norman Barker, 14 [3/21/1980]
Russell Rugh, 15 [3/21/1980]
Harry Todd Turner, 15 [3/24/1980]
Steven Wood, 16 [4/10/1980]
Lawrence Eugene Sharp, 18 [4/10/1980]
Darin Kendrick, 19 [4/29/1980]
Sean King, 14 [5/19/1980] (no picture)
Steven Jay Wells, 18 [6/2/1980]
Harold T., 15 (survived)




CarlK90245 said:
I've wondered if Larry Dean Williams might have been a Randy Kraft victim.

williams_larry_dean.jpg

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/w/williams_larry_dean.html

He was known to be a frequent hitchhiker. Kraft operated in the Long Beach/Orange County areas and many of his victims were hitchhikers.
Click to expand...
 
CarlK90245 said:
Also, regarding the cryptic notations on the scorecard:

"2 IN 1 MV TO PL"

I'm thinking that MV stands for Mission Viejo, (i.e., a coastal Orange County city right in Kraft's area of operation).

There are no two-word California cities with the initials PL, but it could be something like Placentia, which is a city in Northern Orange County.
Click to expand...

Point Loma?
 
I can't help but wonder if this boy was one of Kraft's victims. https://identifyus.org/en/cases/10639
There's very little to go off of, and he was seven or eight years old (then again, Kraft's youngest confirmed victim was only 13), but it might match up.

Only his torso and one thigh were found. Can't find anything on cause of death or if there were signs of torture/sexual assault. Kraft was in California at the time (assuming he died December '74-January '75).
 
The unidentified boy could be a victim of Patrick Kearney, too. Two of his confirmed victims were five and eight year old boys.
 
Returning with an unrelated question.

Is there anything on the Hawth Off Head Doe? There's no NamUs/Doe pages for him but nothing on him being identified either. Has he been identified with his identity withheld?
 
Goecke said:
Returning with an unrelated question.

Is there anything on the Hawth Off Head Doe? There's no NamUs/Doe pages for him but nothing on him being identified either. Has he been identified with his identity withheld?
Click to expand...

There is speculation that HAWTH OFF HEAD is this guy. I think he is still unidentified, though I don't think there is a DoeNet or NamUs page for him.

0bdf596e84d2e395bf0db1e4eb965d33.jpg


I'm guessing that Hawth stands either for the city of Hawthorne, or Hawthorne Blvd (which stretches from Inglewood to the end of the Palos Verdes Peninsula).
 
For whatever reason, I've always interpreted as "Hawth Off" to mean 'hacked off' or something along those lines, tying in to him being more crudely decapitated. But 'hawth' isn't an actual word, so that's probably just me.
 
Goecke said:
For whatever reason, I've always interpreted as "Hawth Off" to mean 'hacked off' or something along those lines, tying in to him being more crudely decapitated. But 'hawth' isn't an actual word, so that's probably just me.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I see what you mean.

Hawth is an English surname and sometimes given name, so it's possible it's some kind of joke about the poor guy's name or appearance.
 
Hello,

I have been researching Randy Kraft's scorecard and also other West Coast serial killers for years. My uncle, Randy David Horton, is an unsolved murder from 1983. His body was found in Siskiyou County. He was brutally killed while hitch hiking from my grandmothers in San Jose California to Spokane Washington.
 
carbuff said:
Yeah, I see what you mean.

Hawth is an English surname and sometimes given name, so it's possible it's some kind of joke about the poor guy's name or appearance.
Click to expand...

I'm glad you get where I'm coming from!
Are there any missing men who have 'Hawth' somewhere in their name, or something that sounds similar to it? Kraft was known to play on people's names (take Fuchs, who I can't remember his first name at the time).

It could also have something to do with the location where he abducted the victim, or a place he worked/frequented. I still think it's a play on words related to the crude decapitation, but there's a lot of options as to why 'Hawth' was significant.
 
Could Clayton Onosaki be 'Hari Kari'? I know there's been some discussion on how it might be a misspelling of 'Harakiri' and how that might point to the victim being Japanese... Onosaki is a Japanese last name.

Also, for the Evans brothers, their NamUs listing says they were intending to go to Kennewick, WA but never showed there. Their car was found 'overlooking the Pacific Ocean south of Lincoln City.'

... PL?
 
The Evans brothers could also be '2 in 1 Hitch'... Maybe their car broke down and they hitchhiked?
 
I haven't really looked into Kraft as much as you guys have, but saw those entries and thought they might match some of the notations. Since they haven't been found as far as we know, it will be quite hard to determine if these are his victims.
 
Hey Y'all! Not that it applies to Kraft's case in any way, but did you know that Bruce Davis of Manson Family fame went by the nickname of Hari Kari?
 
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