Every Town - The I-5 Killer: A Former Football Star Turned Serial Murderer

Episode Date: March 7, 2025

A former NFL player with the mind of a monster turned Interstate 5 along the west coast into his personal route of terror. Randall Woodfield, who would go on to become known as The I-5 Killer, was linked to more than 44 murders when it was all said and done in a blood-soaked spree that spanned across 900 miles. 👀 Watch This Episode On Youtube: https://youtu.be/XmmJRT675cM 👁 Check out our movie AN ANGRY BOY for FREE! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvtlOlODQ8g&t=5238s https://tubitv.com/movies/100029672/an-angry-boy International & Other Ways To Watch: https://www.anangryboy.com/ 💀 MERCH: https://scary-mysteries.teemill.com/ 💀 Free 7 Day Trail on Exclusive Episodes, Podcasts & Perks! https://www.patreon.com/scarymysteries   🎧 Our Other Podcast Scary Mysteries: https://open.spotify.com/show/3ZooEZMoZ421WdsOVJhVkT 👁 X: https://x.com/ScaryMysteries1 👁 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andrew.fitzg 👁 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@andrewfitzgerald 👁 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/scarymysteriesofficial 👁 X: https://x.com/ScaryMysteries1 🗣 Business Inquiries, questions and comments hit us up at [e-mail] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you love true crime, grab your favorite mug and pour yourself a dose of creepy true crime every single morning with a morning cup of murder. This short daily show is the perfect podcast to incorporate into your morning routine because in less than 15 minutes, you'll hear about a true crime that took place on a day's date in history. Each day's dark history lesson will kickstart your morning with intriguing tales of murder, abduction, serial killers, cults, and everything in between.

With over 20 million downloads, Morning Cup of Murder has something for every true crime lover. One listener describes the show as a small package with a powerful punch of crime. Another writes that the show is an absolute delight in the morning. Support yourself a piping hot cup of murder every single morning with Morning Cup of Murder. Find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Every town has a dark side. You may remember the name Randall Woodfield's killing spree terrified people up and down the West Coast all along I-5. He's called the I-5 killer.

A former NFL player with a chiseled jawline in the mind of a monster turned Interstate 5 along the West Coast into his personal route of terror. Randall Woodfield, who would go on to become known as the I-5 killer, was linked to more than 44 murders in morbid, salt when it was all said and done, and a blood-soaked spree that spanned across 900 miles. And perhaps what's most disturbing about it all is that the majority of his crimes he committed were within just a few short months of one another. Armed with a gun, duct tape, and an insatiable thirst for violence, he went hard and fast, leaving a trail of death in motels, stores, and even homes. And his criminal record is so insane that even today, decades later, It remains one of the most disturbing that we've ever seen.

Hey guys, it's Andrew, and thanks for tuning in to another episode of Everytown. But today we're checking out a story about a serial killer, who, for reasons unknown, has sort of flown under the radar for a lot of true crime buffs. It's interesting because part of why he was able to be so prolific, it's because Randall had an athletic background, it was a good-looking guy, which many experts think allowed him to getting close to his victims and gain their trust. and so you have to wonder, well, maybe we've overlooked him for that exact same reason.

But make no mistake about it, this guy's going to blow your mind. So let's head on out west to Oregon and check out how Randall Woodfield became the infamous I-5 killer. Woodfield was born the day after Christmas back in 1950 and raised at a nice middle-class family home in Salem, Oregon. And from an early age, you displayed some serious athletic ability. excelling in any sport that he took on. Though the one he gravitated to the most was football. And so by the time he was in high school, he was an absolute star on the field. He wasn't the biggest guy out there at 6'1 and 185 pounds, but he was fast.

As a standout wide receiver on the Newport High School team, his status made him very popular among his peers. And so overall, he appeared to be a disciplined and successful young man. a leg up, so to speak, on the competition of life. Because of his abilities, Randall went on and earned himself a full scholarship to attend Oregon State University, where he continued to excel in pigskin. It was there that the coaches encouraged him to keep on pursuing the sport, as if he did, then he had a real chance of going pro.

Up to this point, you'd have to agree that Woodfield personified every American kid's dream. The talented and charismatic young man ready to conquer the the sports world. He really had it all right in front of him. He just had to reach out and grab it. But instead, he chose a different path entirely. One, that at first might have seemed like just a couple of bad choices as a result of being young and dumb. But they were actually warning signs of something deep-seated and much darker. The first thing that happened was Randall was arrested when he lost control of his temper and trashed his ex-girlfriend's apartment. About a year later, he then got arrested again, only this time it was for indecent exposure one night,

allowed on the town in Washington. Then, he got in trouble for it again in Oregon, so he liked to show what he was made of both on and off the field. And instead of taking these incidents seriously, the university and sports authorities downplayed it all. His talent on the field kept him in the good graces of coaches and fans who were willing to overlook his legal, troubles and that also helped him from facing harsher consequences in court. And this wasn't just some weird guy off the street. Randall was a star. This pattern of leniency toward his behavior then laid the groundwork for him to continue

exploring darker impulses. A word in the NFL was getting around about Randall's odd behavior which dropped his draft stock a bit. But still in 1974 he was able to get an offer from the Green Bay Packers. And they got him in the 17th round, and he was the 428th pick overall. So he was going to have to prove himself a camp. He signed a contract, however, his time with the team was short-lived. Because soon after joining new accusations of inappropriate behavior off the field began to surface.

Although it was mixed with his past issues, had the team deciding he was more of a liability than he was worth. And so Randall was released before he could ever even. play in an official game. This rejection was a devastating blow for Woodfield. After all those years of hard work to make it as a pro athlete, he wasn't able to stay on the straight and narrow, and it cost him his career. Now, without the structure that football had provided, perhaps the only thing actually keeping them together, Randall found himself lost and resentful.

It was at this point that his disturbing behavior began to escalate and take on a much more violent turn. When following his exit from the NFL, Randall returned to Oregon in search of a new direction. However, instead of focusing on rebuilding his life, he began to display more severe signs of instability. His need to dominate and humiliate others turned into an obsession. Several women all across Portland began reporting some disturbing crimes. They spoke of a man who would approach them at night, brandishing a knife, before forcing them into alleyways and making them perform lewd axe to him. When he was satisfied, he would then rob them of their purses and wallets and take off into the night. Meanwhile, by day, Randall continued playing sports in local leagues,

trying to cling to the athletic image that wants to find him. However, friends and acquaintances began to notice that something was off about him, but few suspected the level of violence he was about to unleash. Eventually, there were so many reports coming in from women that the police needed to put a stop to it as fast as possible, and so they set up a sting operation. They sent out a few female officers dressed in civilian clothing, and had them walk the streets at night with some expensive-looking purses. Wouldn't you know it, Randall just couldn't stay away. He was caught red handed in the act and arrested. Down at the station, they worked him over, and eventually he confessed to the crimes, but cried

about how none of it was his fault. He blamed his poor impulse control on his steroid abuse, claiming he had to take them in order to compete with the other players and they messed them up big time. That is certainly possible that steroids can change a person's aggression levels. It's also possible that from all those hits he took on the field growing up, well, gave him CTE, which again, would have been a factor in his poor decisions. But still, though, neither of those are good enough excuses to harm and humiliate random words. women. Booked and sent to trial, Woodfield received a 10-year sentence. But still, he had a little glimmer of that athlete still in him, and was able to get himself out in just four years. And so, it was 1979 at this point, and now Randall was going to go for the long ball with his deviant

activities. There was no turning back for him, no starting a fresh life over. He was going to commit to this and see it through to the end. Over those four years in prison, Woodfield had a lot of time to think, and one of the things he thought about most was women from his past. He would play out fantasies in his mind where his life took a different path, one where he became a football superstar, and all the ladies loved him. He also had time to write, and so one person he reached out to was Cherry Ayers, whom he had grown up with and known since the second grade.

and she sort of took pity on Randy's situation, so from time to time, she'd ride him back as well. And in the crisp fall air, on October 9th of 1980, Randy decided to pay her a visit, only she didn't know he was coming. He went to her apartment in downtown Portland. When she opened the door, he forced her into the bedroom. One thing Woodfield learned in prison was that he maybe could have avoided jail time, had these women not told the police about him. The only way to do that, well, would be to get rid of them forever. Once he had finished assaulting cherry, he bludgeoned her and stabbed her several times in the neck. Her body would be found right there in the bedroom by her fiancé just two days later.

A little more than a month after that, Woodfield would strike again, and this time it was also with a woman he had known in the past. On Thanksgiving morning, as a way to show how grateful he was feeling, Randy went over to 22-year-old Darcy Fix's house. Darcy had dated one of Randy's close friends back in college, and he always had a thing for her. When he got there, though, it was a man with her, Douglas Altig. While Randy had planned on having his way with Darcy, this new character in the mix certainly put a damper on his mood. And so, Randy just bound them up with duct tape, and grabbed Darcy's revolver, and used it to shoot them both, execution style.

One thing he can't say about Woodfield is that he lacked commitment. And from this moment on, he became prolific in the crimes he pulled off. On December 9th, he took that revolver and used it to rob a Vancouver-Washington gas station while wearing a fake beard. Just four days later, he targeted an ice cream parlor in Eugene. And then, the very next day, robbed a drive-in restaurant in Albany. He put tape over the bridge of his nose, which really hides what people look like. eerily resembling the nasal strips worn by football players,

another attempt to further disguise himself. On December 21st, disguised yet again with a false beard, he cornered a waitress in a Seattle restaurant, forcing her into the bathroom at gunpoint and making her perform a degrading act. The news spread fast and by January of 81, the media dubbed this elusive criminal, the I-5 bandit. Woodfield's victims

spam the I-5 corridor from Washington all the way down to California and today rules... This stretch of road goes from California to Washington State and provided Randall with the perfect mobility to carry out his crimes. On January 8th, he hit the same Vancouver gas station that he'd robbed just a few weeks prior.

Only this time, he took it a step further by forcing a female attendant to expose her breasts while she emptied out the cash register. A string of robberies continued from there. January 11th in Eugene, January 12th in Sutherland, where he shot and wounded a grocery store clerk. But then things changed up and took an even darker turn just two days later. On January 14th, Woodfield broke into a home where two young sisters,

only eight and ten years old, were living. What he did to them is almost too horrific to put into words. He ordered them to undress and then assaulted them. Days later on January 18th, he stormed into an office building in Salem where he assaulted two women, Sherry Hall and Beth Wilmot. After he was finished, he shot them both, killing Hall instantly. Miraciously, Wilmot survived, despite Randy thinking she was dead, and she was able to help provide authorities with a detailed sketch of who they were looking for.

The Woodsfield rampage continued with robberies in Eugene, Medford, and Grant's Pass on January 26th and 29th. In Grant's Pass, he also attacked two women, a clerk and a customer, before fleeing. And on February 3rd, the bodies of Donna Eckerd, who was 37, and her 14-year-old daughter, Janelle, were discovered in their home in Mountain Gate, California. And they were found lying together in bed, both shot multiple times. and tragically forensic evidence revealed that Janelle had also been assaulted. The following day, an eerily similar crime occurred in Eureka, with Woodfield, robbing an Ashland-Oregon motel later that night. And he just kept going.

By February 9th, he struck again, this time in Carvales. He robbed a fabric store assaulting both the clerk and a customer before vanishing in the night. The spree of terror escalated further on February 12th. When robberies connected to the I-5 Bandit took place in Vancouver, Olympia, and Bellevue, Washington, all in a single day. And these crimes included three assaults. Woodfield, for whatever reason, seemed untouchable. But his arrogance knew no bounds.

On Valentine's Day of 81, he planned a party at Portland's Marriott Hotel, inviting old friends from college. Yet, nobody showed up. Seathinging, and perhaps humiliated, he left the hotel and drove to the Beaverton home of 18-year-old Julie Wrights. Woodfield had met her while working as a bouncer at a Portland bar called the Fawcett. At around 2 a.m. on February 15th, he arrived at Julie's home. Investigators believed the two shared a glass of wine before Woodfield brutally turned on her.

He had his way with her, and then he shot her in the head. Evidence at the scene revealed the chilling final moment. of Julie's life. A package of instant coffee said abandoned on the counter, and the kettle on the stove had been left boiling until it ran dry. The authorities urgently needed to get things under control, and for weeks the news coverage was intense, issuing warnings about a serial killer on the loose who was striking at an alarmingly fast pace. The impact of his crimes were devastating. Store owners began closing early and many women avoided traveling alone. Sales of self-defense weapons surged and affected towns, while police intensified patrols near the highway.

The name at this point of the I-5 bandit and now morphed into the I-5 killer. This nickname fueled public paranoia and added pressure on authorities to finally capture him. A police had recovered matching shell casings at multiple crime scenes, officially linking those cases together. This led to a coordinated effort among law enforcement. agencies across several states to get involved, which helped increase resources on the case. Randall eventually made some critical mistakes during his final attacks. On one occasion, he was seen fleeing the scene in a vehicle described by witnesses. This information allowed police to identify the car model and trace ownership records,

bringing them closer to the killer. With his name out in the open, they were able to connect him to several of the victims, as people he had known, which further tightened the noose. With his face plastered everywhere, witnesses began calling in, and from there was just a matter of time before police grabbed him. And finally, on March 5th, he was brought in in question. During that interrogation, he displayed a cold and distant attitude,

denying any involvement in the crimes over the evidence against him was overwhelming. Police presented physical evidence, including bullet cases, DNA samples, and witness testimonies, all proving his guilt. Woodfield's trial was one of the most high-profile cases of its time, due in large part to the sheer number of victims in such a short amount of time. Prosecutors presented a solid case, and beyond just the forensic proof, they detailed how Randall perfectly matched the profile of the killer. His well-groomed appearance and background as an athlete were used to illustrate how he had manipulated his victims,

gaining their trust in many cases before attacking them. The defense tried to argue that the evidence was circumstantial and that Randall was just being framed because of this criminal past and that the police just needed to pin the crimes on somebody. However, the jury remained unconvinced. After a long trial, Randall was found guilty on multiple counts of murder, assault, and robbery, and he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Now, prosecutors have decided not to press.

charges against Woodfield in these four additional murders because he's already serving a life sentence. If he is ever eligible for parole, Noma County's district attorney says he will reconsider that decision. Following that conviction, Woodfield was transferred to a maximum security prison, where he remains to this day at the age of 74. His life behind bars has been marked by isolation and social rejection. He's never admitted guilt, and as such, has never shown. any sort of remorse for his actions. Interestingly, Woodfield's case is not the only one that has terrorized the highway, stretching along the west coast of the U.S.

This road has been the setting for multiple brutal crimes, many of which have left indelible scars on the collective memory. Among these cases is that of Roger Kibb, known as the I-5 Strangler, whose killing spree spread fear throughout the region during the 1970s and 80s. and Kib primarily targeted young women who were traveling alone. His M.O. involved offering assistance to stranded motorists or luring vulnerable victims with deceptive promises. Once he had them under his control, they subjected them to torture before ending their lives through strangulation. He is responsible for having at least eight victims for sure, though there are probably more.

And another shocking case is that of Randy Stephen Kraft, known as the freeway killer. He used the I-5 as a route to transport and dispose of his victim's bodies. He operated during the 1970s and 80s, primarily targeting young men. And Kraft stood out for his high level of organization, keeping a detailed record of his crimes and what became known as his scorecard. His capture resulted from a routine traffic stop, during which police found a dead person in his passenger seat.

The evidence collected in his vehicle included photographs and keepsakes from his crimes, and it was sufficient enough to convict him of 16 murders. However, it is suspected that the real number of victims exceeds 50. In the cases of Kib, Kraft, and of course Woodfield as a whole, remind us that the highways we use daily to get to and from our jobs are much more than we typically give them credit for. They have a long and storied history, and we share them with the worst criminals our society has ever seen. And so the next time you're stuck in a traffic jam, and just take a look around.

Chances are you've driven right next to a killer before and will likely do it again. And maybe it's happening right at this very moment. So that's going to do it for this week's episode of Everytown. Hope you all enjoyed it. And if you did, you might also like the movie we made called an Anger. about a kid who goes and seeks revenge on a group that did him wrong in the worst of ways. It's free on YouTube and Tooby, and links for that are down below. And remember to come back next week for another episode filled with scary, strange, and

mysterious stories, because you never know. Maybe your town will be next.