Charles Campbell

Serial Killer

Charles Rodman Campbell: Murder, Revenge, and a Cold Case Solved by DNA

Overview

Charles Rodman Campbell was an American murderer, rapist, and serial killer whose known crimes in Washington stretched from the mid-1970s into the early 1980s. For decades, he was primarily remembered for the April 14, 1982 murders of Renae Wicklund, her eight-year-old daughter Shannah Wicklund, and their neighbor Barbara Hendrickson in Clearview, Washington. The killings were closely connected to Campbell's earlier sexual assault of Renae and to testimony that Renae and Hendrickson had given against him. Campbell was convicted of three counts of aggravated first-degree murder and sentenced to death. Campbell's known murder count later increased. In 2023, DNA evidence linked him to the previously unsolved 1975 killing of 25-year-old University of Washington graduate student Hallie Ann Seaman in Seattle. That discovery established a separate homicide years before the Clearview triple murder and transformed the historical understanding of Campbell's criminal activity. Because Seaman was killed in a separate episode from the three 1982 victims, Campbell is now associated with four known homicide victims in two distinct periods of violence.

The 1974 Attack on Renae Wicklund

The events that eventually led to the Clearview murders began in December 1974. Renae Wicklund was living in Clearview, Washington, with her young daughter Shannah when Campbell attacked her. During the assault, Campbell threatened Renae with a knife and used the threat of violence against her one-year-old daughter to force Renae to submit to sexual acts. After Campbell left, Renae sought help. Barbara Hendrickson, a neighbor and friend, became involved in the aftermath and later testified when Campbell was prosecuted. Campbell was not immediately captured, and the case remained unresolved while he was at large. He was eventually arrested in 1976 and identified as Renae's attacker. Renae Wicklund and Barbara Hendrickson both became important witnesses in Campbell's prosecution. Campbell was convicted of first-degree assault and sodomy and sentenced to prison. The testimony of the two women helped ensure that he was incarcerated, and prosecutors would later argue that Campbell developed a deep resentment toward them because of their roles in sending him to prison. ...

Confirmed Victims: (4)

Hallie Ann Seaman Age: (25), Date of Death: 1975-04-29

Charles Rodman Campbell - Wikipedia