On May 14, 1983, Terry Lee Gambrel, a 25-year-old white male serving in the U.S. Marine Corps, was found dead in the passenger seat of a car pulled over by California Highway Patrol officers on Interstate 5 in Mission Viejo, California. Gambrel was stationed at the El Toro Marine Base and had served in the military for approximately four and a half years. Originally from Crothersville, Indiana, he was known to be a member of the Austin Community Church and had deep ties to his family, including a twin brother, half-siblings, and a surviving mother.
The traffic stop that led to the discovery of Gambrel’s body began as a routine DUI arrest. Officers noticed erratic driving behavior and pulled over the vehicle. While one officer administered a sobriety test to the driver, the other discovered Gambrel’s lifeless body slumped in the passenger seat, partially concealed under a jacket. The scene was littered with empty beer bottles and pills. An autopsy later confirmed that Terry Lee Gambrel, the 25-year-old white male Marine, had died from strangulation.
The driver of the vehicle was identified as Randy Steven Kraft, a 38-year-old computer consultant from Long Beach, California. Kraft was immediately arrested and held on $750,000 bail. Investigators quickly linked him to a broader pattern of killings spanning multiple states, including California, Oregon, and Michigan. Authorities suspected Kraft of being responsible for the deaths of at least 14 young men, many of whom were in their teens or twenties and had been strangled—often with signs of sexual assault or “homosexual overtones,” according to law enforcement statements at the time.
Evidence found in Kraft’s car and home connected him to a series of murders dating back to 1979. In addition to Terry Lee Gambrel’s death, Kraft was charged with the murder of Wayne Loggins, a 19-year-old from Montclair, California. Investigators from Oregon and Michigan traveled to California to collaborate with local authorities, as Kraft was considered a prime suspect in multiple unsolved homicides in their jurisdictions. The Oregon cases, known as the “I-5 killings,” involved six young men whose bodies were discovered near Interstate 5 between 1980 and 1982. Michigan authorities were investigating the deaths of Chris Schoenborn, 20, and Dennis Alt, 24, whose bodies were found in Plainfield Township.
The arrest of Randy Kraft marked the beginning of a complex and far-reaching investigation into one of the most prolific serial killing cases in U.S. history. Kraft would later become known as the “Scorecard Killer,” a nickname derived from a cryptic list of victims found among his possessions. The death of Terry Lee Gambrel, a 25-year-old white male Marine, was the tragic catalyst that exposed Kraft’s years-long spree of violence.
