Michael Ray Schlicht from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, has been identified as an early victim of the notorious “Scorecard Killer” in California, after 49 years of being known only as “John Doe.” The Orange County Sheriff’s Department in California announced on Tuesday that Schlicht’s body was found on September 14, 1974, in Laguna Beach, California. Initially, his death was deemed accidental due to alcohol and diazepam intoxication. However, subsequent similar deaths in the area were classified as homicides, raising suspicions about Schlicht’s case.
The “Scorecard Killer,” Randy Kraft, was convicted of brutalizing and killing 16 men in Orange County during a decade-long series of slayings that ended with his arrest in 1983. Kraft, now 78 years old and serving his sentence at San Quentin State Prison, is also suspected of committing additional murders in California, Oregon, and Michigan.
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The breakthrough in identifying Schlicht came when tissue samples from his remains were submitted to a private forensic biotechnology company in November 2022. A DNA profile was developed and entered into a genealogy database, which eventually led investigators to Kansas City, Missouri. There, they obtained a DNA sample from a woman believed to be Schlicht’s mother, confirming his identity.
Kraft’s arrest came after a California Highway Patrol trooper pulled him over for erratic driving. In the passenger seat of his vehicle was a strangled U.S. Marine. Prosecutors described Kraft as a fetishist who kept dismembered parts of his victims in his freezer. Despite his conviction, Kraft maintained his innocence, stating, “I have not murdered anyone, and I believe a reasonable review of the record will show that.”
The identification of Michael Ray Schlicht brings closure to his family after nearly half a century of uncertainty. It also highlights the ongoing efforts of law enforcement to solve cold cases and bring justice to the victims of serial killers.
