On June 25, 1982, the body of 62-year-old Arthur Edwin Gray Jr. was discovered at the Twin Springs Campground, located approximately 80 miles east of Eugene, Oregon. Gray had been bound and fatally shot in the back of the head, indicating a deliberate execution-style killing. His remains were found by members of a youth group visiting the area.
Investigations into Gray's murder revealed that he was one of several victims of Robert Wayne Danielson, a convicted serial killer.
Danielson had a history of violent crimes, including a 1970 manslaughter conviction for the shooting death of Thomas Elroy Davis near Marcola, Oregon. After serving eleven years of a 25-year sentence, Danielson was paroled in 1981. Following his release, he committed multiple murders across different states, including the deaths of Harold and Betty Pratt in Arizona, and Benjamin and Edith Shaffer in California.
At the time of Gray's murder, Danielson was accompanied by 14-year-old Lenora Hart Johnson, with whom he had developed a relationship. The pair encountered Gray at a park in Eugene, where Danielson bound him and shot him in the head. This pattern of binding and executing his victims was consistent in Danielson's subsequent crimes. Eventually, Danielson was apprehended and convicted for his series of murders. He died in prison, bringing an end to his violent spree.
Arthur Edwin Gray Jr. was born on January 27, 1920, in Portland, Oregon, to parents Arthur Edward Gray Sr. and Martha Margrethe Hansen. Census records indicate that he was raised as an only child. He was laid to rest at Rest-Haven Memorial Park in Eugene, Lane County, Oregon.
