Eric Herbert Church, a 21-year-old white male from Coventry, Connecticut, was found dead on January 26, 1983, near a freeway ramp in Seal Beach, California. His body had been dumped beside the Garden Grove Freeway, and the circumstances surrounding his death quickly drew the attention of law enforcement due to its similarities with other unsolved murders of young men in Southern California. Church had been hitchhiking from Orange County to Sacramento prior to his death, a detail that would later become significant in the investigation.
Eric Church was identified as one of the victims of Randy Steven Kraft, a serial killer known by monikers such as the "Freeway Killer" and the "Scorecard Killer." Kraft, a 43-year-old white male computer analyst, was arrested in 1983 after police discovered the body of a U.S. Marine in his car during a traffic stop on the San Diego Freeway. This arrest led to a broader investigation that connected Kraft to the murders of at least 16 young men, including Eric Herbert Church. Kraft’s method of operation often involved drugging, torturing, and killing his victims before disposing of their bodies along highways.
A key piece of evidence in the case against Kraft was an electric shaver that belonged to Eric Church. The shaver had been given to Church by his father, Clayton Church, and was later found among Kraft’s possessions. Clayton had modified the shaver by knotting the internal wires to fix a loose plug, a detail that allowed him to positively identify it during Kraft’s trial. This identification helped tie Kraft directly to Church’s murder.
In the subsequent trial, Randy Kraft was convicted of multiple counts of first-degree murder, including the murder of Eric Herbert Church. The jury found Kraft guilty of killing Church and 15 other young men, and he was sentenced to death. The trial included testimony from Church’s father and other witnesses, and the court ultimately upheld the death sentence. Kraft remains one of California’s most notorious serial killers, with Eric Herbert Church remembered as one of his many victims.
