Robert Wayne Danielson: The Campground Serial Killer
Overview
Robert Wayne Danielson Jr. was an American serial killer and repeat violent offender whose crimes stretched across the western United States during the 1970s and early 1980s. He is generally associated with seven killings, including a 1970 homicide in Oregon for which he was convicted of voluntary manslaughter and a later series of six murders committed after his release from prison. His known victims were killed in Oregon, Arizona and California, often in isolated outdoor locations where Danielson could rob his victims and escape with little immediate risk of detection.
Danielson's most concentrated period of violence occurred between December 1981 and November 1982. Campgrounds, parks and remote desert areas became recurring settings in his crimes. Several victims were restrained before being shot, and robbery was frequently an important part of the attacks. Danielson stole vehicles, credit cards, travelers checks and other property from victims, sometimes using those possessions afterward. Investigators ultimately connected crimes occurring hundreds of miles apart through witness accounts, stolen property and the cooperation of Danielson's teenage accomplice, Lanora Hart Johnson.
The 1970 Killing of Thomas Elroy Davis
Danielson's documented history of homicidal violence began in Oregon in 1970. On June 23, 1970, 21-year-old Thomas Elroy Davis encountered Danielson near Marcola, Oregon. An argument developed during the roadside encounter, and Danielson shot Davis to death.
Danielson was initially prosecuted for first-degree murder. The original proceeding ended in a mistrial after improper evidence was introduced, and the murder charge was ultimately replaced by a plea to voluntary manslaughter and other offenses. In November 1970, Danielson admitted responsibility for the fatal shooting while maintaining that he had acted in self-defense. He received a 25-year prison sentence.
Danielson served approximately eleven years in the Oregon State Penitentiary before being paroled in November 1981. His release proved disastrous. Within weeks, two people were dead in Arizona, beginning a multistate series of robberies and killings that would eventually establish Danielson as a serial murderer.
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