10 Most Notorious Oregon Serial Killers

10 Most Notorious Oregon Serial Killers

The true crime genre has attracted such a large following in the past years with many people taking an interest in learning what made someone commit such atrocious acts. Serial killers usually come from different countries and the United States of America has its fair share of serial killers.

Therefore, in this article, we are going to explore ten notorious Oregon serial killers to give the reader an insight into how many serial killers have been running wild and what motivated them to kill. As Oregon is a large state, the list may not be exhaustive but the article will give the reader some foundation when they want to know more about serial killers in Oregon.

1 Randall Woodfield

The serial killer was popularly known as the 1-5 Bandit. He was active during the 1980s. Before the murders, he had been drafted to the Green Bay Packers but was let go as he had the habit of exposing himself to women. After being sacked, he took a bad turn and started going up and down the 1-5 searching for women. He would then force himself on them at knifepoint and sexually assault them. Most of his victims were in their late teens and early twenties. He was later arrested and charged with one murder but it is believed that he killed up to 40 victims.

2 Dayton Leroy Rogers

A picture of serial killer Dayton Leroy.

Dayton Rogers was also known as the Molalla Forest Killer. He got the nickname because the bodies of his victims were retrieved from the Molalla Forest. He had violent tendencies even before deciding to go on a killing spree. He killed Jennifer Smith in 1987 a parking lot in 1987 by stabbing her 11 times. He then proceeded to kill six more women all of whom were sex workers he had taken to the Molalla Forest and killed them. When he was arrested, he was given the death penalty which was overturned in 2021 and he is now serving a life sentence.

3 Douglas Franklin Wright

Douglas was a marine before he was kicked out after he sexually assaulted a five-year-old. He did not stop there in 1969, he broke into an old lady’s home and shot him and her granddaughter before taking her grandson Gail Snelling and took him to a motel where he proceeded to molest him. He was arrested and sent to jail but released on parole.

While he was out, he kidnapped a ten-year-old boy and sexually assaulted him before killing him. He also committed other crimes that resulted in him being sent back to jail. He was out after seven years again and he continued killing people especially homeless men until he was arrested.  He was sentenced to death and he became the first criminal to receive the death penalty after it was reinstated.

4 Jerry Brudos

A picture of Jerry Brudos. Wikimedia

The serial killer was also known as the Shoe Fetish Killer. From childhood, Brudos was fascinated with shoes which Psychologists believed that it stemmed from the abuse he received from his mother. As he grew up his fascination also grew and he would stalk girls in the neighbourhood and assault them then steal their shoes.  He then proceeded to murder four women between 1968 and 1968. He cut various parts of his victim’s bodies and kept them. He was later arrested and received life in prison for the murders. Jerry Brudos died while serving his term in 2006.

5 Keith Hunter Jesperson

Keith is among the most notorious serial killers that Oregon has ever had. He received a life sentence after being found guilty of the murder of several women. His first victim was called Taunja Bennet whom he killed after they had a disagreement at a bar. After killing his victims, he would send notes to the press describing the victims and how they were killed. He would then sign off with a smiley face. After his arrest, he confessed to killing 185 victims but only 7 were linked to him.

Click here to read on the 15 deranged serial killers who operated in Florida

6 Ted Bundy

A picture of serial killer Ted Bundy.  / State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory

Considered to be one of the most notorious serial killers in the history of the United States of America, Ted Bundy also killed victims in the state. While on his killing spree in 1987, Ted Bundy took the life of Roberta Kathleen Parks who was a student at Oregon State University.  Roberta was Bundy’s 5^th victim. Bundy continued his killing spree for four more years in Florida, Washington, California, Utah and Idaho before he was apprehended.

7 The Green River Killer

Gary Ridgeway was also known as the Green River Killer. The killer earned his nickname because the bodies of his victims were discovered along the Green River. His modus operandi was strangling the victims to death. It wasn’t until 2001 that his involvement with the murders was discovered thanks to the advancements in DNA technology. He was charged with murder and he pleaded guilty to 49 counts of murder which he received 49 life sentences and 480 years for tampering with the corpses of his victims. It is believed that his victim count is more than the one he pleaded guilty to.

8 Bobby Jack Fowler

A mugshot of Bobby Jack Fowler. Wikimedia

The serial killer was a drug addict who worked as a construction worker. His adult life was filled with a long list of crimes he committed which include attempted rape, kidnapping, sexual assault, attempted murder and assault. It is believed that he was responsible for 10 to 15 murders that happened on the Highway of Tears as he travellers this route while working for a roofing company.

He was arrested in 1995 after a woman managed to escape him by jumping from a two-storey window naked and a rope on her ankle and went to the police. He was sentenced to 195 months in prison for kidnapping, attempted rape and assault.  He was never convicted for the Highway of Tears murders and he died in 2006 from lung cancer.

9 Thomas Braun

The serial killer was active in August 1967 and in a span of five days from August 18^th to August 23^rd, he had killed four people. The killer would rape his victims and then proceed to shoot them then leave their corpses lying there. He was arrested on August 27^th and transported to Washington where he was put on trial and sentenced to death.

10 Jordan Adan Criado

The killer is known for committing such an atrocious act in that he murdered his wife and four children in Oregon. When one thinks of people being killed, they do not think that it would be by someone close and whom they live which makes the murders quite chilling. In an attempt to conceal the murders, he set the house on fire but he was caught. Jordan was put on trial and sentenced to death.

Check out this article on who are the scariest serial killers in Minnesota here