Vietnam War veteran identified as possible victim of 1980s 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.
15 years later, FBI to re-examine Kyron Horman case after files go digital
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.
Teen arrested after fight at Salem pool hall leads to death
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.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Father-in-law charged with murder of Happy Valley man
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A 72-year-old father-in-law was arraigned for the murder of his son-in-law inside a Happy Valley home this past Friday. David Lynn Jurgenson made his first appearance in Clackamas County Circuit Court on Monday where he was officially charged with second-degree murder plus two counts each of unlawful use of a weapon and reckless endangerment. The August 1 shooting on Southeast Easthampton Street, authorities said Monday. He allegedly shot Marc Richard Floyd after a domestic argument while Floyd's wife — Jurgenson's daughter — and 17-month-old child were inside. Floyd's wife called 911. Deputies rushed to the home, got Floyd's wife and child outside and then found her husband with a gunshot to his chest in the living room. Emergency efforts to save his life failed. Floyd was 37. Jurgenson, who was standing outside the home when deputies arrived, is being held without bail. His next court appearance is scheduled for August 11. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Axios
18 hours ago
- Axios
St. Paul mayoral race heats up as Kaohly Vang Her announces run
DFL State Rep. Kaohly Vang Her officially jumped into the race for St. Paul mayor Monday, becoming incumbent Melvin Carter 's first high-profile challenger. Why it matters: Her's campaign launch wakes up what had been a sleepy mayoral race. Carter has boasted runaway advantages in cash, name recognition and key endorsements — but Her is likely to draw notable support from organized labor. The big picture: A vigorous mayor's race will stir more debate about the challenges St. Paul faces, including rising property taxes, lagging housing development and a struggling downtown. State of play: Two other candidates have already stepped forward to challenge Carter, who has announced his intention to seek a third term but has not officially launched a campaign yet. Biochemist Yan Chen filed to run for the seat on Tuesday. She previously ran for the Ward 1 City Council seat. Small business owner Mike Hilborn has launched a campaign one year after unsuccessfully challenging state Rep. María Isa Pérez-Vega as a Republican in a heavily Democratic district. Zoom in: Her, 52, was born in Laos to parents who arrived in the U.S. as refugees when she was 4. She became a naturalized citizen while in junior high school. The intrigue: Her is running against her former boss; Carter hired her as policy director after first taking office in 2018. Later that year, Her won a seat representing neighborhoods along St. Paul's Summit Avenue in the Minnesota House. In this year's legislative session, Her served as the top DFLer on the House Commerce Finance and Policy committee. Flashback: Her stirred a firestorm on right-wing media earlier this year when she attempted to solicit sympathy for undocumented immigrants by declaring during a floor speech that she and her parents were "illegal" when they came to the U.S. Her later clarified that neither she nor her parents were ever undocumented, but that her father — who worked in the U.S. consulate during the Vietnam War era — had "technically" broken the law by telling a white lie on their refugee application. Her's parents are now citizens.
Yahoo
19 hours ago
- Yahoo
Book Review: A sudden blizzard strands a detective and murder suspects in a hunting lodge
Book Review - Hunter's Heart Ridge - 3x2 for APNews In 1965, as the Vietnam War escalates, a small group of wealthy, powerful men gather at a Vermont lodge to drink and hunt deer. Shortly after they arrive, one of their number, William Moulton, a supporter of the war and a former ambassador to West Germany, is found dead in the woods. State Trooper Franklin Warren, first introduced by author Sarah Stewart Taylor in 'Agony Hill,' (2024) is dispatched to investigate when 'Hunter's Heart Ridge' opens. The surviving members of the group speculate that Moulton died in a hunting accident or, perhaps, killed himself; but Warren promptly determines the man was murdered in a most unusual way. He was stabbed through the heart, and then someone fired a rifle shot through the stab wound as if trying to conceal the cause of death. The group, like the rest of the nation, had been hotly debating the wisdom and morality of the war. However, it soon becomes evident that most of them had a variety of additional reasons to dislike Moulton. As Warren proceeds with his investigation, it becomes evident that nearly everyone is lying to him about one thing or another, although it is not clear whether what each of them has to hide is related to the murder. Then a sudden, early season blizzard strikes, bringing down the telephone lines and stranding Warren with a house full of suspects, including members of the lodge service staff. 'It's like a movie, isn't it,' says one of the kitchen help. 'Or an Agatha Christie novel.' Yes, except that the story's pace sometimes drags. A subplot involving Franklin's friends Alice and Sylvie builds on characters who played a role in 'Agony Hill,' but it adds little to the main story and will be lost on those who have not read the previous novel. Nevertheless, the main plot is clever and suspenseful, and as usual in Taylor's novels (this is her tenth), the settings are vividly drawn and the characters — especially an excitable teenage girl named Jenny — are quirky and memorable. ___ Bruce DeSilva, winner of the Mystery Writers of America's Edgar Award, is the author of the Mulligan crime novels including 'The Dread Line.' ___ AP book reviews:
