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THE VICTIMS

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Compiled by Times staff writer Jerry Hicks

Here is a list of the young men Kraft killed:

Terry Lee Gambrel, 25, stationed at El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, found dead in Kraft’s car when Kraft was arrested May 14, 1983, on Interstate 5 in Mission Viejo. The Marine had been strangled with his own belt and bound at the wrists with his own shoelaces. Drugs identical to those Kraft possessed were found in his system. A missing shoelace from a victim’s sneaker has been called a Kraft “signature,” something prosecutors say is unique to the crimes and links them. Rodger James DeVaul Jr., 20, of Buena Park. His body was found Feb. 13, 1983, in Angeles National Forest north of Claremont Men’s College, where Kraft graduated. Pictures of DeVaul were found in Kraft’s possession, showing his wrists bound and a ligature mark on his neck. Drugs in his system matched those possessed by Kraft. Evidence showed that the body had been redressed, another key link with other murders. Geoffrey Alan Nelson, 18, of Buena Park. Last seen with DeVaul on Feb. 12, 1983, he was found dead at 5:20 that morning on the Euclid Street on-ramp to the Garden Grove Freeway in Garden Grove. Prosecutors alleged that the emasculation of the victim was one of Kraft’s signatures. Fibers from the socks of another victim were found both on Nelson’s corpse and in Kraft’s car. Kraft was also linked with Nelson through the DeVaul pictures and drugs in Nelson’s system. Prosecutors contended that Nelson and DeVaul are the 2 in 1 Beach referred to on a list found in Kraft’s car. Eric Herbert Church, 21, of Coventry, Conn. He was found dead Jan. 27, 1983, along the northbound San Diego Freeway on-ramp to the San Gabriel River Freeway in Seal Beach. Prosecutors said the interchange area in Seal Beach was the site where several corpses were dumped, another Kraft signature. Church’s razor and clothing and a picture of Church seated in Kraft’s car were found in Kraft’s possession. Drugs in his system matched those in the possession of Kraft. Ligature marks on the victim’s neck and wrists were called a Kraft signature. Fibers from Church’s maroon-colored socks were found in Kraft’s car. Robert Wyatt Loggins Jr., 19, a Tustin Marine. His decomposed body was found in a plastic bag Sept. 3, 1980, on a dead-end El Toro street. Pictures of Loggins in nude poses were found in Kraft’s possession. Prosecutors contend he is referred to by the notation MC HB Tattoo on Kraft’s list, because he was last seen in Huntington Beach and was heavily tattooed. Donnie Harold Crisel, 20, a Tustin Marine. Found June 16, 1979, on the northbound Irvine Center Drive on-ramp to the San Diego Freeway in Irvine. He had ligature marks on his neck. Prosecutors called the burning of his left nipple with a cigarette lighter another Kraft signature. Crisel was considered Marine Drunk Overnight Shorts on Kraft’s list because he was found only in his boxer shorts and had a high blood-alcohol level. Michael Joseph Inderbieten, 21, of Long Beach. Found Nov. 18, 1978, on the northbound 7th Street on-ramp to the San Diego and San Gabriel River freeways, considered a Kraft signature dumping ground. His eyelids had been burned with a cigarette lighter, also called a Kraft signature. Prosecutors said he was Dart 405 on Kraft’s list. Keith Arthur Klingbeil, 23, of Everett, Wash. Found July 6, 1978, on northbound Interstate 5 in Mission Viejo, less than half a mile from where Kraft was later arrested. Burnt left nipple, wrist marks and missing shoelace were called Kraft signatures. Klingbeil was Hike Out LB Boots on Kraft’s list, prosecutors said, because he was in hiking boots and because advertising on a matchbook found at the crime scene indicates that he had hitchhiked through Long Beach. Richard Allen Keith, 20, a Camp Pendleton Marine. Found June 19, 1978, along Moulton Parkway in Laguna Hills. Strangulation, wrist marks and drugs in his system matching those in Kraft’s possession are all considered Kraft signatures. Strongest evidence may have been Marine Carson on Kraft’s list; Keith was last seen leaving his girlfriend’s house in Carson. Roland Gerald Young, 23, of Maywood. Found June 11, 1978, on Irvine Center Drive in Irvine, shortly after he was released from Orange County Jail on a public drunkenness charge. Kraft attorneys considered this their strongest case, because Young had been stabbed instead of strangled; they presented witnesses who they believed pointed to a young Mexican as the killer. But prosecutors considered Jail Out on the Kraft list damning evidence. Scott Michael Hughes, 18, a Camp Pendleton Marine. Found April 16, 1978, on the Euclid Street on-ramp to the eastbound Riverside Freeway. Prosecutors contended that he is represented by the Euclid entry on the Kraft list. Missing shoelaces called a Kraft signature. Fibers found on his body matched samples taken from carpets from Kraft’s house and garage. Mark Howard Hall, 22, of Santa Ana. Found Jan. 3, 1976, near Bedford Peak in Silverado Canyon. Emasculation, burnt eyes and nipples all called Kraft signatures. Because Kraft’s fingerprints were found on a broken vodka bottle at the scene, prosecutors used Hall to tie Kraft to other signature deaths where no direct ties to him existed. Prosecutors consider Hall’s murder to be the entry reading New Year’s Eve on Kraft’s list. Keith Daven Crotwell, 19, of Long Beach. His head was found on May 8, 1975, washed up near a marina jetty. His body was found in Laguna Hills on Oct. 18, 1975, but no one realized the pieces were of the same corpse until after Kraft’s arrest. Crotwell was last seen alive riding in a car with Kraft after they met at the Belmont Plaza parking lot. The Parking Lot entry on the Kraft list was considered to refer to Crotwell. Kraft’s own statement to police in 1975 that he had driven Crotwell to Orange County, to the same area where the body was found, was considered key prosecution evidence. Ronnie Gene Wiebe, 20, of Fullerton. Found July 30, 1973, on the eastbound 7th Street on-ramp to the San Diego Freeway in Seal Beach, which prosecutors called a Kraft signature dumping ground. The corpse, which had ligature marks on the neck and was sexually mutilated, had been redressed. Prosecutors contended that Wiebe’s death is 7th St. on the Kraft list. John Doe (never identified), found April 4, 1973, along Ellis Avenue in Huntington Beach. The corpse had been redressed. Prosecutors say Airplane Hill on Kraft list ties him to the murder, because that area of Huntington Beach was once known as Airplane Hill before it was developed. Edward Daniel Moore, 20, a Camp Pendleton Marine. Found Dec. 26, 1972, on the 7th Street off-ramp of the San Gabriel River Freeway in Seal Beach. The dumping of a corpse in the area was considered to be a Kraft signature. Ligature marks were found on his neck. The victim had been sexually mutilated, and the corpse had been redressed. Prosecutors contend that Moore’s initials, EDM, appear the Kraft list. Note: Photos not available of some victims.

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