Randy Kraft: The Scorecard Killer

Randy Kraft was an apparently ordinary computer programmer and military veteran from Southern California who secretly committed some of the most brutal murders in the state's history. Between 1971 and 1983, Kraft abducted, tortured, and killed at least sixteen young men — predominantly hitchhikers and US Marines — whose bodies were found along Southern California freeways in various states of mutilation. He was called the "Scorecard Killer" and the "Freeway Killer." Kraft was arrested in May 1983 when California Highway Patrol officers pulled over his car on I-5 near Mission Viejo and found him drinking a beer with the body of a Marine in the passenger seat. A search of his vehicle and later his home uncovered a coded list of 61 cryptic entries, which investigators dubbed the "scorecard" and believed to correspond to his victims. Despite extensive analysis, many entries have never been conclusively decoded. At trial, the prosecution presented evidence spanning more than two decades of crimes. Kraft maintained his innocence throughout, and the trial became one of the longest and most expensive in California history, lasting nearly a year. He was convicted in 1989 of sixteen counts of murder and sentenced to death. Investigators have attributed up to 67 deaths to him, making him potentially one of California's most prolific killers. Kraft has remained on California's death row ever since, continuing to insist on his innocence and pursuing appeals. His case shares the grim historical period known as California's "Freeway Killer" era with two other unrelated killers — William Bonin and Patrick Kearney — who operated in overlapping geography and timeframes, creating enormous investigative confusion. The full scope of his crimes may never be known.