Authorities have identified a man who was killed nearly five decades ago in California as an Iowa resident, and they believe he was one of the first victims of a notorious serial killer who targeted young men in the 1970s and ’80s.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Department investigators were able to identify the body of Michael Ray Schlicht, from Cedar Rapids, through genetic genealogy, according to a statement released in late November. Schlicht was just 17 years old when he died.
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Schlicht’s body was discovered near a road northeast of Laguna Beach, California, on September 14, 1974. At the time, authorities believed that the teenager had died from accidental alcohol and diazepam intoxication. Unable to identify the body, they listed him as “John Doe.”
Investigators noted that there were other young men dying from alcohol and diazepam intoxication in the same area where Schlicht’s body was found. These deaths were eventually classified as homicides.
The “Scorecard Killer,” Randy Steven Kraft, was arrested in 1983 after a dead man was found in the passenger seat of his car during a traffic stop. Terry Lee Gambrel, the deceased passenger, had empty beer bottles and an open prescription bottle of Lorazepam around his feet. Authorities discovered a coded list of what they believe to be the names of 67 victims in Kraft’s trunk. Kraft was convicted of 16 murders and sentenced to death, but authorities suspect him of committing additional murders.
Investigator Bob Taft, who first learned about Schlicht’s case in 2016, said that investigative genetic genealogy was not available at the time of Schlicht’s death. However, he and investigator Lauren Felix believed that Schlicht could have been a victim of Kraft due to the timing and manner of his death.
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The Orange County Sheriff’s Department investigators submitted tissue samples from Schlicht to a private forensic biotechnology company in November 2022 to develop a DNA profile. By October 2023, Taft and Felix had identified Schlicht’s grandparents through the DNA samples. They then reached out to a granddaughter of the couple in Iowa, who revealed that she had not seen her brother since April 1974. A DNA sample from the woman’s mother was compared to the unidentified body, resulting in a match.
The Orange County District Attorney’s Office will determine whether Kraft will be charged with Schlicht’s death. Meanwhile, Taft and Felix continue to work on the case and urge anyone with information to contact Orange County Crime Stoppers.
