Monday, 13 April 2015

Serial Killers: Randall Woodfield

Born: December 26, 1950 in Salem, Oregon 

Number of victims: 18+

Date of murders: 1979 - 1981

Method of murder: Shooting 

Location: Oregon / Washington / California




Randall Woodfield was once a promising college football player who even had a try out with the Green Bay Packers. But in 1974, Woodfield was arrested for exposing himself to a group of woman. It was the latest in a series of “flashing” incidents and the Packers eventually gave up and sent the promising youngster home.

Back in Oregon, and bitter at his axing, Woodfield began accosting women at knife point and forcing them to perform oral sex on him. Arrested in 1975, he was sentenced to 10 years in jail. He served four and was out in 1979. Soon after his release, a former girlfriend of Woodfield’s was found raped and strangled in her apartment. Woodfield was questioned but was not considered a suspect. A month later two of Woodfield’s friends were shot and killed. Again, he was not suspected. 

Beginning in late 1980, Woodfield began cruising the I-5 freeway from Washington to Northern California, committing a series of armed robberies, sometimes coupled with sexual assault. That spree earned him the nickname, the I-5 Bandit.

But the bandit soon graduated to rape and murder, claiming an estimated 18 victims in less than two years. He was eventually caught after killing a a woman he was acquainted with in Beaverton, Oregon. The victim was linked to Woodfield and a search of his home turned up the .32 pistol used in the I-5 murders, as well as other evidence linking him to the crimes. A victim who survived one of his attacks was also able to identify him.

Found guilty of murder, Woodfield was sentenced to life plus 90 years in October 1981.


Read the full, horrific story of I-5 Killer Randall Woodfield, plus 11 more serial killer cases in American Monsters Volume 8. Available now on Amazon
 
 

2 comments:

  1. I worked at Keybank with Darcy Fix in 1980. The week before she was murdered (Thanksgiving 1980) I was driving fro Portland to Eugene after work to visit my boyfriend at U of O. A handsome guy in a gold VW bug pulled up next to me and motioned for me to pull over. I was on I-5 just south of Salem and got a very weird vibe so I did not pull over. He played chicken with me all the way to Eugene and followed me to by boyfriend's apartment building. I parked my car and ran in to my boyfriend's apartment and told them some weird guy was tormenting me on the freeway and followed me. They ran outside, saw his car and he sped off. They chased him and got his license number (I already had written it down while driving). I found out about Darcy's murder the next weekend. I never put the two together until the police arrested him and said he drove a gold bug. He had obviously been staking Darcy out at the bank, saw me and decided to follow me. I thank God for the primal fear response that alerted me to his dangerous nature. Darcy was a wonderful young woman. I hope Woodfield rots in hell.

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    1. Wow! Scary story! Woodfield is not that well known among the general public but is certainly one of the scariest serial killers I've written about.

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