Wilmington John Doe (February 1973)

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Wilmington John Doe was a young man found strangled in 1973. He is a potential victim of Randy Steven Kraft.

Case

The victim was recovered by Long Beach police at around 11:30 AM on February 6, 1973, after a trucker phoned authorities. He was found naked in a ditch off the Terminal Island Freeway in Wilmington, California. The area was described as a brush-covered, muddy oil field.

Before an autopsy confirmed foul play was involved, it was initially speculated that the cause of death was an overdose. This was soon disproved, and there have been no additional statements by investigators that he was a recreational drug user. Results from toxicology testing, if performed, are unavailable.

A piano wire was deemed a potential source for the injuries on the neck. A brown sock had been forced into his rectum. No additional clothing was recovered. Randy Steven Kraft, a serial killer active in the area at the time often sodomized his victims with socks. Two other men with similar victim preferences were committing serial murders simultaneously along major California roadways.

This victim was possibly the "WILMINGTON" entry on Kraft’s “scorecard,” which he recorded murders he committed. Another male with similar characteristics was found in April 1973 in the same city; he is commonly listed as a confirmed Kraft victim.

Kraft was never formally charged with the decedent's murder, and he has not confessed to the crime or given any information that may lead to the decedent's identification, as he falsely maintains his innocence.

Other suspected and potential victims of Kraft include Wilmington John Doe (April 1973), Larry Parks, Jeff Sayre, Paul Fuchs, Keith Jackson, Kevin Bailey and Oral Stuart Jr.

Characteristics

Brown hair.
Brown eyes.
Several long, thin, old scars on lower right leg.
Type A blood.

Gallery

Exclusions

Sources

Wilmington John Doe at NamUs ^{POSTMORTEM WARNING}
Wilmington John Doe at NCMEC
Wilmington John Doe at the Doe Network
Los Angeles County Medical Examiner
Randy Kraft on Wikipedia
Angel of Darkness: The True Story of Randy Kraft and the Most Heinous Murder Spree

↑ This Missing Person went missing in November 1972 and is not to be confused with the more well-known John Smith Jr., who disappeared in 1996.

[1] This Missing Person went missing in November 1972 and is not to be confused with the more well-known John Smith Jr., who disappeared in 1996.

[1]