Vietnam War veteran identified as possible victim of 1980s serial killer

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — After 45 years, investigators have identified a Marion County man they believe was the victim of a notorious West Coast serial killer.

On July 18, 1980, Oregon State Police officers originally responded to a report of a man found dead along I-5 near Woodburn. Although a homicide investigation into the man’s death was open, authorities were unable to identify him until now.

In April 2025, he was positively identified as Larry Eugene Parks, a Vietnam War veteran who was 30 years old at the time of his death.

OSP added that the discovery of Parks’ body came a day after the body of another man was found along I-5 in Marion County. Although investigators suspected the two murders were related, leads dried up and both cases went cold.

Then in 1983, a man named Randy Kraft was arrested in Orange County, Calif. on suspicion of being the Scorecard Killer, who murdered 60 victims across the West Coast, as well as Michigan.

Even though Kraft was ultimately convicted of 16 murders in California in 1989, officials believed Parks and O’Fallon were also killed by Kraft and evidence collected from their murders was used during trial, which was then stored in Orange County.

But in January 2024, OSP said the Orange County Sheriff’s Department contacted their Cold Case Unit about the John Doe (Parks) case and offered to help them identify the remains by creating a genetic profile from a blood sample. Investigators used the information to find possible family members who then submitted their own DNA samples, leading to the identification of Parks.

According to OSP, Parks’ family had lost contact with him the year before and he was last seen in Pensacola, Florida.

“With Parks’ identity confirmed, investigators are now working to bring resolution to the 45-year-old case,” officials said.