Randy Kraft
Randy Kraft, pictured during his trial in 1989.
Background information
Birth name	Randy Steven Kraft
Also known as	The Freeway Killer, The Scorecard Killer
Born	March 19, 1945 (age 67) Long Beach, California,United States
Conviction	Murder Sodomy Mutilation[1]
Sentence	Death
Killings
Number of victims	16–67
Country	United States
State(s)	California Oregon Michigan[2]
Date apprehended	May 14, 1983

Randolph Steven "Randy" Kraft (born March 19, 1945) is an American serial killer known as the "Scorecard Killer" and the "Freeway Killer"[3] who committed the rape, torture, mutilation and murder of a minimum of 16 young men in a series of killings spanning between 1972 and 1983, the majority of which had been committed in California. Kraft is also believed to have committed the rape and murder of up to 51 further boys and young men. He was convicted in May 1989[4] of murdering 16 victims and is currently incarcerated upon death row at San Quentin State Prison in Marin County, California.

Kraft became known as the Scorecard Killer and the Freeway Killer because many of his victims' bodies were discovered beside or close to freeways.[5] and because upon his arrest, investigators discovered a coded list depicting cryptic references to his victims.[6]

Early life
Randolph Steven Kraft was born in Long Beach on March 19, 1945, the fourth child and only son born to Harold and Opal Kraft.[7] Kraft's parents had moved to California from Wyoming at the outbreak of World War II;[8] his father, Harold, worked as a production worker, and his mother worked as a sewing machine operator.

The Kraft family lived a modest existence, and Kraft's mother undertook a succession of jobs to supplement her husband's salary.

Nonetheless, Kraft's mother always found time for her children, whereas Kraft's father seldom attended any social gatherings with his wife and children, and was later described as being "distanced" from his family.[9] As a child Randy was doted on by his three older sisters and mother[9] although he was known to be accident prone.accident prone.

In 1948, the Kraft family moved from Long Beach to Midway City, California in neighboring Orange County.[10] The Kraft's new family home in Midway City was a small, wood-frame Women's Army Corpsdormitory on Beach Boulevard that Kraft's father, Harold, renovated into a three-bedroom house.[11]

In Midway City, Kraft attended Midway City Elementary school, where his mother served on the Parent-Teacher Association. As a scholar, Kraft was noted for his intelligence by classmates and teachers. By 1957, Kraft was deemed intelligent enough to attend accelerated classes at 17th Street Junior High School.accelerated classes at 17th Street Junior High School.

Adolescence and graduation
By adolescence, Kraft had taken a keen interest in politics, becoming a staunch Republican[12] with aspirations to become a U.S. senator. Shortly after his enrollment at enrollment atWestminster High School, he and two close friends founded a Westminster World Affairs Club. At Westminster High School, Kraft was again regarded as a pleasant, bright student who regularly achieved A grades.[13] He was also known to occasionally date girls[14] although some classmates and teachers later stated they suspected Kraft was teachers later stated they suspected Kraft washomosexual.

Kraft later stated he had known from his high school days that he was homosexual, although he initially kept his sexuality a secret. On June 13, 1963, he graduated tenth out of a class of 390 pupils.[14] That fall, he enrolled at Claremont Men's College[15] in Claremont, California, where he pursued a Bachelor of Arts degree in degree in economics.

Claremont College
Shortly after his enrollment as a freshman at Claremont Men's College, Kraft enrolled in the Claremont Reserve Officers Training Corps[16] and he regularly attended demonstrations in favor of the Vietnam War and — in 1964 — for the election of conservative presidential candidate Barry Goldwater. Kraft later declared these actions were merely a mimic of his parents' political views and not his own, describing his second year at Claremont as being when he abandoned "last gasp" of conservative ideology.[17] The same year, Kraft entered his first known homosexual relationship.

In 1964, Kraft began working as a bartender at a local Garden Grove cocktail lounge catering to gay clientele; he was also known to regularly travel to Laguna Beach and Huntington Beach for casual sex with hustlers. In an apparent tentative effort to announce his sexuality to his parents, Kraft took a succession of male "friends" to meet his family in the years he was enrolled at Claremont, although he was also known to occasionally date girls. Initially, however, Kraft's parents and sisters were oblivious to his homosexuality.[18] The following year, he developed a radical shift in his political beliefs, becoming an ardent supporter of left-wing politics, eventually registering as a Democrat in 1967.[19]

In 1966, Kraft was arrested and charged with lewd conduct after propositioning an undercover policeman in Huntington Beach;[15] as he had no previous criminal record, no charges were filed.

The same year he had registered as a Democrat, Kraft became a party organizer, campaigning tirelessly for the election of Robert Kennedy and receiving a personal letter from the senator, thanking him for his efforts. By his senior year, Kraft had become somewhat complacent student: drinking, experimenting with drugs and regularly attending all-night gambling and poker sessions with other students.[15] The lack of commitment to his studies in his final year resulted in Kraft's failing to graduate from Claremont in June, 1967.

Kraft had to repeat his econometrics class, resulting in his graduation being deferred by eight months. In February 1968, Kraft graduated from Claremont Men's College with a Bachelor of Arts in economics.

]U.S. Air Force
Four months after his graduation from Claremont Men's College, Kraft joined the U.S. Air Force. He was sent to a boot camp in Texas before being stationed at Edwards Air Force Base in southern California, where he supervised the painting of test planes.[15] In his service within the U.S. Air Force, Kraft rose to the rank of Airman First Class and supervisor-manager.[20]

The same year Kraft became an Airman First Class, he disclosed to his family that he was homosexual. In a letter Kraft wrote to a friend, he described his father as having flown "into a rage," whereas he described his mother as being more understanding, if somewhat disapproving.[21] Kraft's family accepted his sexuality, and he remained in close contact with his parents and siblings, although his siblings noted he began to "distance himself" from his family after he had announced his sexuality to them.[22]

On July 26, 1969, Kraft received a general discharge from the Air Force after announcing his sexuality to his superiors. The discharge was officially listed as being on "medical" grounds. In response, Kraft sought legal advice from an attorney in attempt to challenge the grounds regarding his discharge from the Air Force. The Air Force, however, refused to change the status of his discharge.

Following his military discharge, Kraft moved back into his parents' home and worked as a bartender.

First known sexual assault
In March 1970, Kraft encountered a 13-year-old Westminster youth named Joey Fancher at Huntington Beach.[23] Fancher explained to Kraft that he had run away from home that day. In response, Kraft invited the youth to accompany him to his apartment on the promise that he could live with him. Fancher agreed and accompanied Kraft to his Belmont Shore apartment where he was drugged and then assaulted. Hours later, Fancher escaped from Kraft's apartment after Kraft left the youth unattended in the apartment to go to work. A member of the public summoned an ambulance having observed Fancher's drugged and disheveled condition: Fancher required his stomach pumped as a result of the drugs he had ingested.

At the hospital, Fancher informed police Kraft had given him drugs and beaten him. He did not disclose to either his parents or the police that he had been sexually assaulted.[24] A search of Kraft's apartment was conducted, with the cooperation of Kraft's roommate.

However, as Fancher had confessed to police he had taken the pills offered to him voluntarily and the search officers had conducted without a warrant, no charges were filed.

Enrollment at Long Beach State University
In 1971, Kraft found new employment as a forklift truck driver in Huntington Beach. In an effort to further his career prospects following his military discharge two years earlier, he enrolled at Long Beach State University, undertaking teaching courses. At Long Beach State University, Kraft became acquainted with a fellow teaching student named Jeff Graves — a Minnesota youth four years younger than himself and with whom Kraft began a relationship