Angel of Darkness: The True Story of Randy Kraft and the Most Heinous Murder Spree

I almost gave up reading books about serial killers because both the books and the killers seemed too much alike. Dennis McDougal does one thing different and well in his serial killer book, and he can do it because of skill of his subject, Randy Kraft, in hypocrisy. McDougal tells his tale in two streams. On one hand he tells the story of Kraft, a Goldwater conservative in the early sixties, a gay coming very tastefully out of the closet in the late sixties, and a yuppie computer expert in the seventies and eighties. On the other hand, McDougal tells of the efforts of the police to catch a sadistic killer who has been dumping the tortured bodies of young men on the highways of southern California. The author is so skillful that when show more Kraft turns up at a friend’s house with a victim’s jacket I was jolted, even though I knew how this story was going to end. The storylines finally converge when Kraft is arrested in his car with the corpse of a Marine sitting next to him. show less

Although very well written, this book is a hard read due to the excessive detail and the clinical way the crimes are broken down. The story alternates between discussing the crime, sharing tidbits of Kraft's childhood, depicting his day to day life and detailing the lives of the victims. While extremely interesting albeit slightly disturbing, this book pacts so much information into it, it sometimes feels like your brain goes into data overload. I would recommend this only to the avid true crime reader, for as intriguing as Kraft and his crimes were, this detail oriented book takes time and dedication to get through.

I read about murderer Randy Kraft years ago, but it was just a chapter in another book. I remembered him because of the brutality of the crime and the apparent fact he came from a normal, decent family, with no major past trauma to account for his sadistic crimes. He is one of the most prolific serial killers of all time, with the added notoriety of being the worst torturer I've read about. Kraft was a young, white, gay, successful computer programer, involved in a steady relationship, and known as smart, kind and friendly. He killed only young white men, many gay, mostly hitchhikers, by drugging them, sexually abusing and torturing them, and finished by strangling. He was pulled over for driving erratically, and was caught with a dead show more marine in the passenger seat and another bloody body in the trunk, yet maintained his innocence throughout. Speculation about the interstate highway system contributing to the increase in serial murders was also discussed. This is a tough, tragic account, but I found the psychology of the killer and those who knew him fascinating. show less

This is a great book about a complicated serial killer, Randy Kraft. I read this book years ago, but decided to give it another read, and I am glad I did. It is very detailed, but not really graphic. Just gives the details necessary to understand what happened. Randy Kraft was killing young me at the same time other serial killers were out there in California. The author also talked about some of the other killers and gave the differences. I am glad because it was so interesting! I loved the way the book is written and it was well-written. I really had a hard time tearing myself away from it. I will read more of his books. This one is excellent and I highly recommend it!

This was one of the most terrifying books, I have ever read. Maybe because it was true? McDougal does an excellent discription of all the crimes...

This true crime work details the (known) crimes of Randy Kraft, about the earliest identified American serial killer and rapist known variously as the Scorecard Killer, the Southern California Strangler, etc. He was one of "the Freeway Killer" monsters conflated with William Bonin and Patrick Kearney.

Kraft, while riding the rising wave of computer work, committed the rape, torture, and murder of a minimum of apparently scores of young men between 1972 and 1983, the majority of whom he killed in California. He was convicted in May 1989 and is still incarcerated on death row at San Quentin. The long, costly trial leading to his imprisonment, as well as much of the lives of his victims are detailed here.,

Kraft became known as the show more "Scorecard Killer" because upon his arrest as investigators discovered a coded list with sixty-one entries on a scorecard containing cryptic references to his victims, some of which are still unidentified.

There are also clear, strong suggestions here that there is a missing accomplice, possibly still alive. show less