California serial killer may be linked to 45-year-old Oregon cold case

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Randy Kraft. June 27, 1989. "Randy Steven Kraft (born March 19, 1945) is an American serial killer. He was convicted of 16 murders and is strongly suspected of committing at least 51 others. (File photo, OC Register, MediaNews Group/Orange County Reg

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LOS ANGELES - Oregon State Police have identified a man who was found dead on the side of a highway more than four decades ago, and investigators say his death is likely connected to a serial killer who was arrested in California in the 1980s.

What we know:

On July 18, 1980, Oregon State Police found a man's body on the side of Interstate 5 in Woodburn, about 30 miles south of Portland. Despite an investigation at the time, officers weren't able to figure out who the man was, until now.

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Larry Eugene Parks, who was found dead in Oregon in 1980. (Photos courtesy of the Oregon State Police)

Last month, thanks to help from the Orange County Sheriff's Department, Oregon investigators were able to identify the man as Larry Eugene Parks. Parks was a 30-year-old Vietnam War veteran who had lost contact with his family in 1979, and was last seen in Florida.

What they're saying:

Now, officials are saying that convicted serial killer Randy Kraft, also known as the "Scorecard Killer," is the only person of interest in the investigation.

Left: Larry Eugene Parks (Photo courtesy of the Oregon State Police). Right: Randy Steven Kraft, convicted serial killer. (Photo courtesy of OC Register, MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images).

"There’s some evidence that we’re processing to determine that link," Oregon State Police spokesperson Kyle Kennedy told the Associated Press. "We are very confident that we have the correct person of interest."

The backstory:

Kraft was arrested in May 1983 after a California Highway Patrol officer pulled him over in Orange County. When the officer approached Kraft's car, he found Kraft, along with a dead man's body in the passenger's seat.

When officers searched the trunk, they found a coded list, which they believe detailed 67 victims from California, Oregon and Michigan, police say.

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In May 1989, Kraft was convicted of 16 murders and sentenced to death. Kraft, now 80, is in the California Institution for Men in Chino, according to California state inmate records.

During Kraft's trial, prosecutors used evidence from Parks' 1980 killing. That evidence stayed in Orange County until January 2024, when the OCSD reached out to Oregon police, offering to try and identify the man using a blood sample. From there, investigators were able to use DNA to find some of the man's potential relatives. They used that DNA to positively identify Parks after nearly 45 years.