In the winter of 1982, the life of 19-year-old Lance Trenton Taggs was tragically cut short, his body discovered on December 9th beside a road in Wilsonville, Oregon. A former resident of Hawaii, the Caucasian male had moved to Oregon to live with his grandparents in September of that year. Taggs was last seen on December 8, 1982, hitchhiking from Tigard, presumably on his way to visit a relative in Los Angeles.
His journey, however, ended in Clackamas County, not far from where another victim had been found just weeks earlier.
An investigation into his death revealed a sinister sequence of events. Taggs had been drugged with a combination of alcohol and Valium before his life was violently taken. The cause of death was determined to be suffocation, a sock having been forced down his throat. His body was found by a passing motorist the morning after he was last seen alive.
The trail to find his killer eventually led to one of the most prolific serial murderers in American history, Randy Kraft, also known as the "Scorecard Killer." Kraft, a computer consultant who traveled frequently for work, was in Oregon on business at the time of Taggs' death. Following Kraft's arrest in May 1983 for a different murder, a search of his home and vehicle uncovered damning evidence linking him to numerous other unsolved homicides. Among the items found were Lance Taggs' blue tote bag and his martial arts equipment.
Prosecutors believe Taggs was one of at least 16 men and boys murdered by Kraft between 1972 and 1983, though Kraft is suspected in dozens more. A coded list found in Kraft's car, which authorities dubbed his "scorecard," contained cryptic references to his victims. It is believed that the entry "PORTLAND HAWAII" was a chilling reference to Lance Taggs, a nod to his former home and the location where his life was taken. Randy Kraft was ultimately convicted of multiple murders and sentenced to death.
