Larry Lee Ranes: The 1964 Interstate Murder Spree
Introduction
Larry Lee Ranes was an American murderer who confessed to killing five men during a brief but violent crime spree in the spring of 1964. Born on March 22, 1945, in Kalamazoo, Michigan, Ranes was only 19 years old when he was arrested. His crimes involved robbery, car theft, attacks on service-station employees and the murder of a motorist who had stopped to help him.
Ranes was convicted only of the murder of Michigan schoolteacher Gary Albert Smock. However, he also confessed to four additional killings in Michigan, Indiana, Nevada and Kentucky. Investigators connected him to the murder of Indiana gas-station attendant Charles E. Snyder and suspected that another victim was Air Force serviceman Vernon Llewellyn LaBenne. The identities of the men Ranes claimed to have killed in Nevada and Kentucky were never conclusively established.
Early Life and Family Background
Ranes grew up in Kalamazoo in a troubled household. His father reportedly drank heavily, behaved violently and encouraged Larry and his older brother, Danny Arthur Ranes, to fight and compete against one another. The father eventually abandoned the family and moved to Florida, where he worked at a gasoline station. Larry later developed a deep resentment toward his father and reportedly associated service stations with him.
As a teenager, Ranes became involved with an older woman who lived near his family. He spent considerable time with her and her children, forming an unusually intense attachment. By his late teens, however, his behavior had become increasingly unstable and violent.
Ranes entered the United States Army but encountered disciplinary problems. His military career ended after episodes of violence and confinement. After leaving the service, he drifted through several states and committed robberies to obtain money, food, transportation and alcohol.
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