Randy Steven Kraft

In 1990 in California (though many victims were found along the Pacific Coast Highway, Randy Steven Kraft was also active in Florida), a series of horrifying murders struck young, ambitious college students. The victims—typically male students—were abducted, brutally killed, and then posed in bizarre scenes before their bodies were abandoned. Unique details like Kraft’s “candy wrapper” notes—his coded symbol for each victim—and the discovery of contraceptive devices at crime scenes added layers of mystery to an investigation that spanned decades. In this episode, you’ll learn how law enforcement tied together forensic evidence—from DNA traces to coded entries in the killer’s diary—to reveal both victims’ identities and the perpetrator behind the terror.