In January 1974, 23-year-old white female Ginger Rader was kidnapped in Onslow County, North Carolina. According to police reports, she was allegedly forced to assist in a bank robbery before being fatally shot. Ginger Rader’s death was one of several violent crimes that occurred in the region during that year, all of which were later linked to a single suspect.
Authorities identified Marcus Shrader, a Navy corpsman stationed at Camp Lejeune, as the primary suspect in Rader’s murder.
Although he was never formally tried for the killing of Ginger Rader, law enforcement officials publicly named him as responsible. Shrader was also accused of murdering three other young females: 15-year-old white females Karen Amabile and Cindy Howard, and 19-year-old white female Cheryl Potter Boyd. The pattern of violence, which included kidnapping, sexual assault, and murder, spanned from January to August 1974.
Shrader’s arrest came on August 18, 1974, after a military corpsman recognized him from a wanted poster, despite the suspect having worn a ski mask during the crimes. This recognition led to his apprehension and subsequent conviction for the murder of Cheryl Potter Boyd. He was sentenced to death in 1974, though his sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment following a Supreme Court ruling that deemed North Carolina’s death penalty unconstitutional at the time.
While Ginger Rader’s case did not proceed to trial, her death remains a documented part of Shrader’s violent spree. The brutality of the crimes and the young age of the victims, including 23-year-old white female Ginger Rader, left a lasting impact on the Jacksonville, North Carolina community. Shrader died in prison in 2007 of natural causes.
