Between 1971 and 1983, California was shaken by a series of murders that left a trail of terror and desolation. The Victims were mostly young bisexual or gay peoplefound dead on various highways in the state, generally after having been tortured and sexually abused. This pattern raised concerns among authorities. Known as the “Highway Killer” and the “California Strangler”, Randy Kraft, He murdered around 16 men, but is estimated to have had 29 more links to murder.
The first deaths related to Kraft occurred at the end of 1971, when local police found the body of Wayne Dukette 30 years old, who was found without clothes on the Ortega Highway.
In the following months, another young man was found in similar circumstances. Edward Moore, 20, appeared on the same highway without clothes, According to police records, this pattern of systematic murders became more established over time and left a trail of terror and anguish on California highways. “Police began to notice an alarming increase in the appearance of corpses of young people with signs of extreme violence,” a reporter on the case said at the time.
It was April 1974 when Michael Ray Schlicht, a young man from Cedar Rapids, in the US state of Iowa, He was last seen by his sister. Schlicht, a 17-year-old known for his adventurous spirit and love of warm weather, embarked on a journey that would lead him to become another victim on Randy Kraft’s deadly list.
Five months later, in September 1974, Schlicht’s body was found on the street in Southern California. At the time, his death was wrongly classified as accidental alcohol poisoning. alcohol and diazepam. There were no signs that indicated the dark truth lurking behind this discovery.
According to Telemundoin November 2022, in an effort to bring justice to the “cold cases”, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department requested the collaboration of Othram Laboratoriesa private forensic biotechnology company based in Texas. Using advanced genetic genealogy techniques, Othram was able to develop a DNA profile from tissue samples of Michael Schlicht’s unidentified body. This profile eventually made it possible to trace his possible grandparents and, with a DNA sample from a woman believed to be his mother, confirm his identity.
The Sheriff’s Department highlighted the importance of this genealogical technology in solving cold cases, an advance that has allowed multiple investigations to be reclassified and closed in recent years. Thanks to these developments, Michael Ray Schlicht’s name could be restored and his unnamed grave in the El Toro Memorial Park received the dignity he deserved
Years passed and as several bodies of young men were discovered in different parts of Orange County and Southern California, local authorities began to notice a disturbing pattern. For 1980the investigations took a decisive turn when they considered these crimes as the work of the same serial killer.
On May 14, 1983, during a routine traffic stop, the police arrested Randy Kraft. His unusual behavior and the evidence found in his car sparked an intense investigation. In the trunk of the vehicle, authorities discovered a coded list that apparently contained names of more than 67 possible victims.
This discovery, coupled with several photographs of dead young men and numerous other incriminating items, cemented Kraft’s reputation as one of the most prolific and terrifying criminals in United States history.
Randy Kraft was sentenced to death in 1989 for the murders of 16 young people committed between 1972 and 1983. During the trial, it became clear that Kraft not only killed, but also tortured, sexually assaulted and mutilated his victims. His detailed notes on each of the young men he murdered reflected a disturbed and meticulous mind, determined to carry out each crime with terrifying precision.
